Older adults who experience poor quality sleep are at a higher risk of dying by suicide, compared to adults who are well-rested.

Those between the ages of 35 and 64 face a heightened risk of depression and suicide. The suicide in this age group rose 28 percent to 17.6 people for every 100,000 from 1999 to 2010. The sharpest increases in suicide occur as baby boomers age.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine looked at data from an epidemiological study of 14,456 adults aged 65 and older. The sleep quality of 20 of the study’s participants who committed suicide was compared to the sleep patterns of 400 similar individuals during a 10-year time period.

The researchers discovered that those reporting sleep disturbances had a 1.4 times higher chance of committing suicide within the 10 years compared to those with a healthy level of sleep.

Lead study author Rebecca Bernert, PhD, and director of the Suicide Prevention Research Laboratory at Stanford, stresses the importance of early interventions to prevent suicide among older adults.

“Suicide is the outcome of multiple, often interacting biological, psychological and social risk factors,” Bernert said. “Disturbed sleep stands apart as a risk factor and warning sign in that it may be undone, which highlights its importance as a screening tool and potential treatment target in suicide prevention,” said Bernert in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in JAMA Psychiatry.