It actually refers to deaths per 1,000 per year over a nearly 8 year study period. People who slept more or less than 6-8 hrs/night died at a higher rate. So th

It actually refers to deaths per 1,000 per year over a nearly 8 year study period. People who slept more or less than 6-8 hrs/night died at a higher rate. So the article refers to an actual “risk of death” during the study period. More worrying, though, is that the headline implies causation: more or less sleep = increased risk, whereas the body of the article back-pedals and says people who are sick sleep more, so there’s just a correlation.