Walking Lowers Early Mortality Risk Associated with Insomnia

WHO Recommends at Least 150 Minutes of Brisk Walking or 75 Minutes of Running per Week

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[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Jinsoo Lee] Everyone knows that sleep is important. However, many people suffer from insomnia. Insomnia not only harms mental, emotional, and cognitive health but can also increase the risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, myocardial infarction, and stroke.

There are ways to solve this problem. Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia recently introduced in a new study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) that walking briskly for a total of 150 minutes per week can reduce the risk of early death caused by insomnia.

The researchers claimed that exercising according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines can eliminate almost all harmful symptoms related to insomnia. Getting good sleep and exercising sufficiently is ideal. WHO recommends at least 150 minutes of brisk walking or 75 minutes of running per week.

The researchers analyzed data from 380,055 adults with an average age of 56. They categorized their exercise and sleep amounts into high, medium, and low. During an 11-year follow-up, 15,503 participants died. Causes of death varied, including various cancers, coronary heart disease, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke.

The analysis showed that people suffering from insomnia who also exercised little had a 57% higher probability of early death compared to those who slept well and exercised frequently. The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 67% higher, and the risk of death from cancer was 45% higher.

However, the researchers emphasized that simply exercising according to the WHO minimum guidelines eliminates most of the link between insomnia and mortality.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.