Living longer lives: men need sleep, women need to eat

Men live longer if they have good sleep patterns, but women need a varied diet for longevity, research has shown.

Investigators examined the eating and sleeping habits of 1,865 participants aged over 65. They found that women with a diverse diet that included rich sources of vitamin B6 could live longer even if their sleep patterns were poor.

The research showed that men’s morbidity was more adversely affected by poor sleep, though there was an interaction between diversity in dietary intake and sleep patterns in both males and females.