In the busy world that we live in, with the constant scheduling and the stress and strain of everyday life, one aspect of our lives that suffers regularly is sleep.

Though everyone can appreciate the value of a good night's rest, many people, for various reasons, still go about their day in a constant state of sleep deprivation. Medical experts link a number of health consequences that stem from this lack of sleep, and now it appears that one of them may be longevity.

In a recent study published in the journal Sleep, researchers examined the sleep patterns of what they classify as "exceptionally old adults," or people who lived to 100 years of age or older in China. The project was the first to study a large sample of people in regards to their sleep and how long they lived.

The decision to look at China in the study was based on the fact that with over 1.3 billion people, it has been estimated that the country has nearly 40.5 million people who are at least 75 years of age, giving China the largest elderly population in the world and thus making it an ideal candidate in the study of life spans.

By analyzing data from a longitudinal health study that looked at longevity, researchers examined the data of over 15,000 adults who were 65 years of age or older, including nearly 4000 of whom were between the ages of 90 and 99 years, and about 2800 individuals who were at least 100 years old.

What they found was that nearly 65% of the group reported having either a good or very good quality of sleep, with the average daily amount being about 7.5 hours, including naps. The people in the oldest group, aged 100 years or more, were actually 70% more likely to have healthy sleeping patterns than younger participants in the 65 to 79 year age range, and men were 23% more likely than women to be getting enough sleep.

There were relationships between to having poor sleep quality and health, as well. Those individuals who rated their health as being poor were 46% more likely to express dissatisfaction with their sleep, as were people who had anxiety, at least one chronic disease, or difficulty in performing routine, everyday tasks.

The data also indicated that a person's economic status as well as their access to healthcare were important considerations in terms of sleep quality, with individuals being 84% more likely to sleep well when they had adequate access to medical care and 56% more likely to report good sleep quality when they were in good economic standing.

It is important to note that the study did not directly examine causality when it came to sleep quality and health, but the authors of the study believe that there exists a relationship between the two.

The take home message is that sleep is important not only to our good health and proper daily functioning, but perhaps how long we live, which makes sense when you really get down to it.

If you have questions for concerns about sleep, speak with your physician. For more information, visit the homepage for the National Sleep Foundation.