Table 1

Characteristics of short, normal and long sleepers

Short sleepers
(<6 hours per night) n=387
Normal sleepers
(6–9 hours per night) n=4475
Short compared with normal sleepers
p Value
Long sleepers
(≥9 hours per night) n=217
Long compared with normal sleepers
p Value
Male (%)48.348.20.95737.8 0.003
Age (years)55.1±6.454.1±7.1 0.009 55.8±7.1 <0.001
BMI (kg/m2)28.3±5.726.9±4.7 <0.001 27.4±5.4 0.04
ESS total7.8±4.76.7±3.9 <0.001 6.4±4.70.25
BMI >30 (%)37.227.1 <0.001 33.2 0.048
Married (%)66.276.0 <0.001 65.7 0.013
Current smokers (%)42.332.3 0.002 34.80.536
Exercise ≥2 × per week (%)37.646.1 0.001 39.40.06
Reported lifetime morbidity
CVD (%)5.03.90.316.10.12
Diabetes (%)8.43.5 <0.001 6.1 0.05
Hypertension (%)32.621.8 <0.001 23.80.48
Depression (%)21.715.3 0.001 32.9 <0.001
  • Significance is marked as bold.

  • BMI, body mass index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; ESS, Epworth Sleepiness Scale.