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Have you been sleeping well lately? A lack of sleep may be linked with increased risk of fractures as per a new study. The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, found
that women who slept 7-8 hours every night had less chances of experiencing falls as compared to women who slept for 5 hours and 10 hours. There was a 25 per cent increase in the risk of
falling and suffering from fractured bones. > Shorter duration of sleep was associated with an increased risk of > upper, lower limb and central body fractures. However, it’s not >
linked with an increase in hip fractures. 1,57,306 women from a Women’s Health Initiative were analysed for the study who had an average follow-up time of 7.6 years for falls and an average
of 12 years for fractures. The analysis revealed that women who slept for 5 hours every night experienced 10.6 per cent of recurring falls as compared to women who slept 7-8 hours (7 per
cent) and women who slept for 10 hours (11.8 per cent). Dr Jane Cauley, lead author of the study, said: > Falls are an important public health problem among older adults and > lead to
moderate to severe injuries. Most fractures occur because of > falls, and recent evidence shows that mortality from falls in the US > is increasing. Even though falls are caused by a
number of factors, > our paper focuses on a novel risk factor: sleep. Results suggest > that interventions aimed at improving sleep may reduce the risk of > falls. Dr Jane Cauley
Published: 22 Nov 2018, 11:48 AM IST