Stress And Sleep: Can Calmer Days And Better Nights Help You Live Longer?

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and certified Yoga Therapist, Flametree Yoga Darwin

Awake at 3am with tomorrow running through your head? Stress and sleep are tied together, and both turn up in some of the biggest health studies ever run. In large studies, long-term stress and poor sleep are linked with more heart disease and an earlier death. So can calmer days and better nights help you live longer? And where does yoga fit?

Stress and sleep and longevity: the short answer

Stress and sleep both matter for how long and how well we live. In large studies, high stress is linked with a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and earlier death. So is sleep that is regularly too short, or too long. Yoga has good trial evidence for lowering the body’s stress signals and helping sleep quality. No study has yet shown that yoga itself adds years, and we show you exactly where the evidence stops. This post is the companion to our look at everyday habits and longer lives.

Here is the article in short form:

• More distress, higher risk of dying early (68,222 adults).
• Sleep has a sweet spot, at around seven hours.
• Too much sleep is linked with higher risk too.
• Stress programmes helped heart patients in several trials.
• Yoga lowers stress markers and helps sleep quality.
• No study yet shows yoga adds years.
• The next step: try a class, in Darwin or online.

Who are we, and why write about stress and sleep?

We are Flametree Yoga Studio in Darwin, and we teach Iyengar yoga. It is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching. He also pioneered the use of props, such as blocks, belts and chairs. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga.

We sell yoga classes. We would rather say so up front. But stress and poor sleep touch almost everyone, so the evidence is worth knowing whether or not you ever come to a class.

In our post on healthy lifestyle habits, we looked at four ordinary habits and longer lives. Stress and sleep were not counted in those studies. This post fills that gap.

Does stress shorten your life?

In large studies, people under more stress and distress are more likely to die earlier, and more likely to have heart disease and stroke. That is a link, not proof that stress is the cause.

Here is what the biggest studies found:

• Even mild distress was linked with a higher risk of dying, and the risk rose with the level of distress. A pooled analysis of 10 English studies, 68,222 adults, followed for about 8 years (Russ and colleagues, BMJ, 2012).
• High strain at work was linked with about 23% more coronary heart disease (blocked heart arteries). 197,473 people in 13 European studies (Kivimaki and colleagues, Lancet, 2012).
• Working 55 hours or more a week was linked with a 33% higher risk of stroke, compared with a standard 35 to 40 hour week. A review of 25 studies with 528,908 people (Kivimaki and colleagues, Lancet, 2015).
• The most distressed people had about a 32% higher risk of dying from cancer. 163,363 people in 16 studies (Batty and colleagues, BMJ, 2017).

Stress and longevity: why linked is not the same as caused

These are observational studies (researchers watch what happens, rather than putting people into groups). People who are unwell, short of money or lonely tend to be more stressed. Illness itself raises stress, too.

The researchers allowed for a lot of this, and the link stayed. But no study can allow for everything. The work-strain researchers also found that job strain accounted for only about 3.4% of heart disease, a much smaller share than smoking.

How much sleep do you need to live longer?

In large studies, the lowest risk sits at around seven hours a night. Both regularly short sleep and regularly long sleep are linked with a higher risk of illness and earlier death.

Most of us know from experience that stress and sleep feed each other. A tense day makes a restless night, and a bad night makes the next day harder. Here is what the sleep and longevity studies found:

• Regularly short sleep was linked with a 12% higher risk of dying. A review of 16 studies with 1,382,999 people (Cappuccio and colleagues, Sleep, 2010).
• Regularly long sleep was linked with a 30% higher risk of dying. Same review.
• Each hour under seven was linked with about 6% higher risk of dying, and each hour over seven with about 13%. A review that combined many studies (Yin and colleagues, Journal of the American Heart Association, 2017).
• People with insomnia had about a 45% higher risk of developing heart disease. A review of 13 studies with 122,501 people (Sofi and colleagues, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2014).

Is too much sleep bad for you?

Not in itself, as far as anyone can tell. Long sleep is often a sign of something else, such as illness, low mood or a sleep problem. So the message is not “sleep more”. It is to sleep well.

Seven hours is not a magic number either. These figures are averages, mostly from people answering questionnaires about their own sleep.

Does easing stress or fixing sleep help you live longer?

For stress, there are promising signs, but so far only in people who already had heart disease. For sleep, we have not found trials that measured long-term results such as heart attacks or deaths.

These trials taught stress-management skills to people who already had heart disease:

• Fewer later heart events: 18% against 33%. Stress management added to heart rehabilitation, in 151 people who already had heart disease, followed for about 3 years (Blumenthal and colleagues, Circulation, 2016).
• Fewer deaths: 7% against 20%. A group stress programme for 237 women who already had heart disease, followed for about 7 years (Orth-Gomer and colleagues, 2009).
• Fewer new heart events, though not clearly fewer deaths. A stress programme for 362 people who already had heart disease, followed for about 8 years (Gulliksson and colleagues, Archives of Internal Medicine, 2011).
• Fewer deaths, heart attacks and strokes combined. A meditation technique taught to 201 people who already had heart disease, followed for about 5 years (Schneider and colleagues, 2012).

Two things to keep in mind. These were people who already had heart disease, so the results do not tell us what happens in healthy people. And none of these programmes was yoga. They were group stress-management courses and, in one trial, a meditation technique.

Does yoga lower stress and help sleep?

Yes. In randomised trials, yoga has lowered the body’s stress signals and improved sleep quality. The size of the effect varies from trial to trial.

Yoga and stress

• Yoga was linked with lower cortisol (a stress hormone), lower resting heart rate and lower blood pressure across the day, compared with other activities. A review of 42 randomised trials (Pascoe and colleagues, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2017).
• Yoga reduced anxiety compared with no treatment. A review of 8 trials with 319 people (Cramer and colleagues, Depression and Anxiety, 2018).

Yoga and sleep

• Yoga improved sleep quality in women. A review of 19 trials with 1,832 women (Wang and colleagues, BMC Psychiatry, 2020).
• Women after menopause with insomnia had less insomnia after four months of yoga than a control group and a stretching group. 44 women completed the trial (Afonso and colleagues, Menopause, 2012).
• Older adults in assisted living slept better and felt less low after 24 weeks of yoga. 55 people finished; groups were set by where people lived (Chen and colleagues, 2010).

In the review of women, the results were less clear for women with breast cancer and for women around menopause. More research there would help.

One more point. These reviews pooled many styles of yoga, and they did not report Iyengar yoga on its own. So we do not claim them as Iyengar results. In our view, as certified Iyengar teachers, careful teaching and props make rest and breathing easier to learn well. We explain why in Yoga or Iyengar yoga? Why the difference matters.

For more detail, see our guides to yoga for stress and burnout, yoga and sleep, insomnia and fatigue and yoga and anxiety.

Extra things yoga helps with

Stress and sleep are only part of it. Here are five more reasons people keep coming back to yoga:

• Yoga is exercise. A review of 17 studies found yoga sessions are mostly light to moderate activity, and some sequences count towards weekly activity targets (Larson-Meyer, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2016).
• It improves sleep. Better sleep quality in a review of 19 trials with 1,832 women (Wang, 2020).
• It decreases stress. Lower cortisol and resting heart rate in a review of 42 trials (Pascoe, 2017).
• It makes you more mindful. In a trial of 46 healthy adults, eight weeks of yoga raised overall mindfulness and three of its parts; the waiting-list group rose on two (Shelov and colleagues, 2009). Holding a pose takes present attention, which is why we see yoga and mindfulness as one road (see our guide to yoga and mindfulness).
• It is engaging. This one is what students tell us, not a study. A Flametree online student in Alice Springs wrote: “I am so in love with yoga and look forward to each class immensely.” And Jan, another student: “For me, Yoga [online] classes at Flametree have been a lifeline through Covid, and continue to engage, motivate, and to strengthen my practice. Thank you!”

What we can and cannot say about stress, sleep and longevity

We can say that yoga helps how people feel and sleep. We cannot yet say it helps people live longer, because no study has tested that.

The largest yoga heart trial, Yoga-CaRe, followed 3,959 people after a heart attack in 24 Indian hospitals (Prabhakaran and colleagues, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2020). It found no clear difference in major heart events: 6.7% in the yoga group against 7.4% with enhanced standard care. The researchers said the trial did not have enough events to show a difference either way. People in the yoga group rated their own health better and got back to normal activities more.

So the chain runs like this. Yoga reliably helps stress and sleep. Stress and poor sleep are linked with illness and earlier death. Whether easing them through yoga adds years has not been tested. Not yet tested is not the same as not working, and we will keep watching the research.

If your heart or blood pressure is on your mind, our guides to heart health and yoga, high blood pressure and yoga and healthy ageing and yoga go further. And for the everyday habits side, read Can Everyday Habits Add Years To Your Life?

Where can you work on stress and sleep in Darwin?

Right here. At Flametree we teach yoga and pranayama (yogic breathing) in Darwin, and LIVE online across Australia. Classes are adapted to the people in the room, with props so each pose suits your body. You do not need to be flexible, fit or young to start.

Many of our students come because of stress and sleep. They tell us the quiet at the end of class, and the slow breathing, carry into their evenings.

If you have been meaning to start, or to come back, this is a good moment. See the class times and book here. New to yoga? Start with 2 free classes, then half price. Come and try a class, and see how you feel after a few weeks.

Frequently asked questions about stress and sleep

Does stress shorten your life?

In large studies, people with more stress and distress were more likely to die earlier. In 68,222 English adults, high distress was linked with almost twice the risk of dying over about 8 years. This is a link, not proof that stress is the cause.

How much sleep do you need to live longer?

In large studies, the lowest risk sat at around seven hours a night. Each hour less was linked with about 6% higher risk of dying, and each hour more with about 13%. These are averages, not a target for every person.

Is too much sleep bad for you?

Regularly long sleep is linked with a higher risk of illness and earlier death, but it is often a sign of something else, such as illness or low mood. So the message is to sleep well, not to sleep more.

Does yoga help with stress and sleep?

Yes. In reviews of randomised trials, yoga was linked with lower cortisol and resting heart rate, less anxiety and better sleep quality. Results varied between trials, and most trials mixed many styles of yoga.

Has yoga been shown to help you live longer?

Not yet. No study has shown that yoga extends life. The largest yoga heart trial, of 3,959 people after a heart attack, found no clear difference in heart events, though people felt healthier. What yoga does well is help people feel calmer and sleep better.

Weight is another everyday habit that calm can shift. See Yoga And Weight Loss: What 23 Studies Found, And Why Calm Matters More Than Calories.

Sources

Each study below was checked against its PubMed record on 7 November 2026.

• Russ TC and colleagues. Association between psychological distress and mortality. BMJ, 2012. PubMed 22849956
• Batty GD and colleagues. Psychological distress in relation to site specific cancer mortality. BMJ, 2017. PubMed 28122812
• Kivimaki M and colleagues. Job strain as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Lancet, 2012. PubMed 22981903
• Kivimaki M and colleagues. Long working hours and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Lancet, 2015. PubMed 26298822
• Cappuccio FP and colleagues. Sleep duration and all-cause mortality. Sleep, 2010. PubMed 20469800
• Yin J and colleagues. Sleep duration and risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2017. PubMed 28889101
• Sofi F and colleagues. Insomnia and risk of cardiovascular disease. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2014. PubMed 22942213
• Blumenthal JA and colleagues. Enhancing cardiac rehabilitation with stress management training. Circulation, 2016. PubMed 27045127
• Orth-Gomer K and colleagues. Stress reduction prolongs life in women with coronary disease. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2009. PubMed 20031809
• Gulliksson M and colleagues. Randomized controlled trial of cognitive behavioral therapy after a coronary event (SUPRIM). Archives of Internal Medicine, 2011. PubMed 21263103
• Schneider RH and colleagues. Stress reduction in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2012. PubMed 23149426
• Pascoe MC and colleagues. Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2017. PubMed 28963884
• Cramer H and colleagues. Yoga for anxiety. Depression and Anxiety, 2018. PubMed 29697885
• Wang WL and colleagues. The effect of yoga on sleep quality and insomnia in women. BMC Psychiatry, 2020. PubMed 32357858
• Afonso RF and colleagues. Yoga decreases insomnia in postmenopausal women. Menopause, 2012. PubMed 22048261
• Chen KM and colleagues. Effects of yoga on sleep quality and depression in elders in assisted living facilities. Journal of Nursing Research, 2010. PubMed 20220611
• Prabhakaran D and colleagues. Effect of yoga-based cardiac rehabilitation (Yoga-CaRe). Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2020. PubMed 32241371
• Larson-Meyer DE. A systematic review of the energy cost and metabolic intensity of yoga. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2016. PubMed 27433961
• Shelov DV, Suchday S, Friedberg JP. A pilot study measuring the impact of yoga on the trait of mindfulness. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2009. PubMed 19751539

Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and LIVE online. This page is general information, not medical advice.