Links between daily movement and death may vary with sleep
Among adults meeting sleep guidelines, modelling 30 minutes shifted from sleep to moderate-to-vigorous activity gave a hazard ratio (a comparison of death rates) of 0.80 versus no shift.
American Journal of Epidemiology
Researchers followed 68,995 UK Biobank adults in a prospective observational study for an average of 8.0 years. They analysed device-measured sleep, sedentary behaviour—time spent awake sitting or reclining—standing and physical activity. During follow-up, 2,668 participants died. Statistical models estimated associations between reallocating time across these behaviours and death rates.
Among adults meeting sleep-duration guidelines, shifting 30 minutes from sleep to standing, light activity or moderate-to-vigorous activity was linked to lower death rates from any cause. Among short sleepers, shifting 30 minutes from sleep to sedentary time, standing or light activity was linked to higher death rates from cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart and blood vessels. Reallocating sedentary time to sleep was linked to lower mortality among both regular and irregular sleepers.
Why it matters
Premature death is an important outcome in research on lifespan. The study bears on whether sleep patterns should be considered when assessing links between daily activity and longevity.
Caveats
This observational study modelled time shifts rather than testing them in an intervention. It cannot show that changing sleep or activity would cause death rates to change.
The paper
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Raaj Kishore Biswas, Nicholas A Koemel, Dorothea Dumuid, Sebastien F M Chastin, Joanna M Blodgett, Jean-Philippe Chaput, Mark Hamer,University of Sydney
American Journal of Epidemiology · 7 Oct 2026
