Short Sleep May Harm Bone Health in Older Women

A study of 11,084 postmenopausal women in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggests short sleep may damage bone health, reports Medical News Today . "I hope that it can . . . serve as a reminder to strive for the recommended seven or more hours of sleep per night for our physical and mental health," said University at Buffalo, New York Professor Heather M. Ochs-Balcom. The researchers learned that women who reported getting only up to five hours of sleep per night had significantly lower values in four bone mineral density (BMD) measures — the whole body, the hip, the neck, and the spine — compared with women who slept longer. The lower BMD measures among the short sleep cohort were equivalent to being one year older. The results excluded other potential influential factors like age, race, effects of menopause, smoking status, alcohol use, body mass index, use of sleeping pills, exercise, and type of bone density scanner. The researchers said an important message to consider is that sleep, like diet and exercise, is often modifiable.