YapSpan

Sleep and lifespan

How much each sleep pattern raises, or lowers, the odds of dying. Tap a pill, answer yours.

Your total

?%

Answer the 17 factors below to see your combined risk of dying change.

What sleep does to how long you live

?%

What sleep does to how long you live

75%50%25%0%25%50%75%100%← more risk · % change in risk · less risk →Factors, ranked by biggest effect≈3×#166%#265%#361%#453%#548%#643%#730%#830%#927%#1023%#1121%#1217%#1316%#1411%#1510%#163%#17Everythingelseno single number

Scroll sideways to see every factor →

Tap a pill to answer yours.

Where you sit

0 of 17 answered

Answer the 17 factors above to see which ones raise your own risk, which sit at the reference, and which the studies have no number for.

Relative mortality versus each factor’s reference group; above the line is lower risk, below it higher.

Sources (20)Young et al., Sleep 2008 · Harvey et al., Sci Rep 2023 · Kwok et al., J Am Heart Assoc 2018 and 17 moreShow all
  1. [1]T. Young et al. Sleep disordered breathing and mortality: eighteen-year follow-up of the Wisconsin sleep cohort. Sleep, 31(8):1071-8, 2008. Evidence: Low
  2. [2]J. M. Marin et al. Long-term cardiovascular outcomes in men with obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea with or without treatment with continuous positive airway pressure: an observational study. Lancet, 365(9464):1046-53, 2005. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71141-7 Evidence: Low
  3. [3]A. Harvey et al. The mortality risk of night-time and daytime insomnia symptoms in an older population. Sci Rep, 13(1):9575, 2023. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-36016-4 Evidence: Low
  4. [4]T. Åkerstedt et al. Sleep duration and mortality - Does weekend sleep matter?. J Sleep Res, 28(1):e12712, 2019. doi:10.1111/jsr.12712 Evidence: Low
  5. [5]A. Sabag et al. Timing of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity, Mortality, Cardiovascular Disease, and Microvascular Disease in Adults With Obesity. Diabetes Care, 47(5):890-897, 2024. doi:10.2337/dc23-2448 Evidence: Low
  6. [6]C. Wang et al. Association of bedtime with mortality and major cardiovascular events: an analysis of 112,198 individuals from 21 countries in the PURE study. Sleep Med, 80:265-272, 2021. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2021.01.057 Evidence: Moderate
  7. [7]M. Ma et al. Association of sleep timing with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: the Sleep Heart Health Study and the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study. J Clin Sleep Med, 20(4):545-553, 2024. doi:10.5664/jcsm.10926 Evidence: Low
  8. [8]D. P. Windred et al. Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: A prospective cohort study. Sleep, 47(1), 2024. doi:10.1093/sleep/zsad253 Evidence: Low
  9. [9]A. K. Parsaik et al. Mortality associated with anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs-A systematic review and meta-analysis. Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 50(6):520-33, 2016. doi:10.1177/0004867415616695 Evidence: Moderate
  10. [10]F. P. Cappuccio et al. Sleep duration and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Sleep, 33(5):585-92, 2010. doi:10.1093/sleep/33.5.585 Evidence: Moderate
  11. [11]H. Li et al. Association of healthy sleep patterns with risk of mortality and life expectancy at age of 30 years: a population-based cohort study. QJM, 117(3):177-186, 2024. doi:10.1093/qjmed/hcad237 Evidence: Low
  12. [12]T. Yamada et al. Daytime Napping and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality: A Prospective Study and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis. Sleep, 38(12):1945-53, 2015. doi:10.5665/sleep.5246 Evidence: High
  13. [13]R. H. Schneider et al. Long-term effects of stress reduction on mortality in persons ≥55 years of age with systemic hypertension. Am J Cardiol, 95(9):1060-4, 2005. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2004.12.058 Evidence: Low
  14. [14]D. P. Windred et al. Brighter nights and darker days predict higher mortality risk: A prospective analysis of personal light exposure in >88,000 individuals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 121(43):e2405924121, 2024. doi:10.1073/pnas.2405924121 Evidence: Low
  15. [15]X. Wang et al. Coffee drinking timing and mortality in US adults. Eur Heart J, 46(8):749-759, 2025. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehae871 Evidence: Low
  16. [16]F. Gu et al. Total and cause-specific mortality of U.S. nurses working rotating night shifts. Am J Prev Med, 48(3):241-52, 2015. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.10.018 Evidence: Low
  17. [17]K. L. Knutson and M. von Schantz. Associations between chronotype, morbidity and mortality in the UK Biobank cohort. Chronobiol Int, 35(8):1045-1053, 2018. doi:10.1080/07420528.2018.1454458 Evidence: Low
  18. [18]C. S. Kwok et al. Self-Reported Sleep Duration and Quality and Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis. J Am Heart Assoc, 7(15):e008552, 2018. doi:10.1161/JAHA.118.008552 Evidence: Moderate
  19. [19]J. Sun et al. Association of the American Heart Association's new "Life's Essential 8" with all-cause and cardiovascular disease-specific mortality: prospective cohort study. BMC Med, 21(1):116, 2023. doi:10.1186/s12916-023-02824-8 Evidence: Low
  20. [20]N. Kumar and S. Krishnamurthy. Social jet lag is associated with incident cardiovascular disease independent of sleep duration and cardiac genetic risk. J Intern Med, 300(3):360-378, 2026. doi:10.1111/joim.70133 Evidence: Low

Every factor, one by one

One quick question each. The charts above follow your answers.

  1. #1Untreated sleep apnea[1, 2]≈3×

    The biggest single sleep-linked mortality multiplier is a breathing problem.

    Do you snore loudly or wake up gasping?

    reference
    ≈+50%
    ≈+10%
    ≈3×

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. Saved to your quiz answers, so the quiz shows it too.

  2. #2Insomnia that wrecks the day[3]+66%

    Insomnia kills through the day, not the night.

    How do bad nights leave you during the day?

    reference
    ≈+33%
    +66%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  3. #3Weekend catch-up sleep[4]+65%

    Catching up counts.

    Weekdays versus weekends, how do your nights compare?

    reference
    reference
    +65%
    +25%

    Same number, 2 answers: This is a real, tested result, not a survey-granularity merge: the cohort explicitly measured short weekday sleep with a long weekend lie-in and found its mortality did not differ from the six-to-seven-hour reference group.

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  4. #4When you exercise[5]−61%

    Evening exercise does not hurt sleep, and in one cohort it went with the lowest death rate.

    When do you do most of your brisk exercise (walking fast, cycling, sport)?

    reference
    −33%
    −40%
    −61%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  5. #5Bedtime after midnight[6, 7]+53%

    Bedtime has a U-curve of its own, with its low point around 11 pm.

    What time do you usually go to bed?

    +23%
    reference
    +53%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  6. #6A regular schedule[8]−48%

    Regularity beats duration.

    How regular is your sleep schedule?

    −48%
    reference

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. Saved to your quiz answers, so the quiz shows it too.

  7. #7Sleeping pills[9]+43%

    Across 25 studies and 2.35 million people, users of hypnotic or anxiolytic drugs had 43% higher all-cause mortality than non-users.

    Do you take prescription sleeping pills (benzodiazepines, Z-drugs)?

    reference
    ≈+20%
    +43%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  8. #8Hours a night[10]+30%

    The U-curve is real, and the long end is a symptom.

    How much sleep do you usually get?

    +12%
    ≈+6%
    reference
    +30%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. Saved to your quiz answers, so the quiz shows it too.

  9. #9The five healthy sleep traits[11]−30%

    The composite.

    How many of these five do you have: 7 to 8 hours, fall asleep easily, stay asleep, wake rested most days, no sleep medication?

    reference
    ≈−10%
    ≈−20%
    −30%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  10. #10Long daytime naps[12]+27%

    Long naps are a warning light more than a cause.

    Do you nap during the day?

    reference
    reference
    +27%

    Same number, 2 answers: This is a real, tested result, not a survey-granularity merge: the pooled cohorts explicitly measured naps under 60 minutes a day and found no association with all-cause mortality or cardiovascular disease.

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  11. #11A daily relaxation practice[13]−23%

    The only mortality number for meditation comes from a small pooled trial, so hold it loosely.

    Do you have a regular relaxation or mindfulness practice?

    reference
    ≈−12%
    −23%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  12. #12Light in the bedroom at night[14]+21%

    Light at night is the first bedroom lever with a measured death rate.

    How much light are you in during the hours you should be asleep?

    reference
    +15%
    +21%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  13. #13Daylight during the day[14]−17%

    The other half of the light story.

    How much real daylight do you get on a typical day?

    reference
    −10%
    −17%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  14. #14Coffee, morning versus all day[15]−16%

    Coffee’s longevity benefit seems to belong to the morning cup.

    When does your last caffeine of the day usually land?

    reference
    −16%
    −4%
    −4%

    Same number, 2 answers: The study split drinkers into a morning pattern and an all-day pattern only, so both afternoon and evening caffeine land on the all-day figure.

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  15. #15Rotating night shifts[16]+11%

    Working against the body clock for years shows up in the death rate.

    Have you worked rotating night shifts (nights mixed with days or evenings)?

    reference
    ≈+5%
    +11%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  16. #16Night-owl body clock[17]+10%

    In 433,268 UK Biobank adults followed for 6.5 years, people who called themselves definite evening types had 10% higher all-cause mortality than definite morning types, with more diabetes, and psychological and neurological disorders along the way.

    Left to yourself, are you a morning person or a night owl?

    reference
    ≈+5%
    +10%

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

  17. #17Poor sleep quality[18]+3%

    How well you rate your own sleep is, on its own, barely linked to how long you live.

    How well do you usually sleep?

    reference
    +3%
    +3%

    Same number, 2 answers: The pooled cohorts defined poor quality broadly, from restless or disturbed nights and frequent waking to a PSQI above 5, so broken nights and poor nights both fall in the group the meta-analysis compared.

    Not answered yet. Tap an option to save your answer. This answer does not change your life estimate.

Keep going

The deep dives behind this chart, and the quizzes that score it.

Take the sleep quiz →Take the diet quiz →Take the exercise quiz →All quizzes →All deep dives →