Those who sleep for less than six hours daily were 12% more likely to die untimely as compared to those who get the recommended six to eight hours of sleep during night.

The research conducted by the University of Warwick and Federico II University Medical School, Italy, provides proof of the direct connection between short sleep duration and an augmented risk of dying untimely.

The study also mentioned that consistent overlong sleeping (over nine hours a night) can be a cause for concern.

While, unlike short sleeping, too long sleeping doesn't in itself raise the death risk, it can be a important marker of underlying grave and potentially lethal sicknesses.

The research viewed the connection between the level of habitual duration of sleep and fatality rate by assessing 16 potential studies from the UK, the US, European and East Asian nations.

The research comprised over 1.3 million partakers, followed up for up to 25 years, with over 100,000 fatalities registered.

Francesco Cappuccio, professor the University of Warwick and consultant physician, stated, "Whilst short sleep may represent a cause of ill-health, long sleep is believed to represent more an indicator of ill-health."

The results of the study were published in Sleep. (With Inputs from Agencies)