Written for Heart1 by Michelle Alford
Seven hours of sleep is ideal for your heart’s health, says a study published in Sleep journal. People who sleep more or less than seven hours are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
While analyzing data gathered in a 2005 national US study of 30,000 adults, doctors Charumathi Sabanayagam and Anoop Shankar of West Virginia University discovered that sleeping less than five hours per day is associated with angina and sleeping both less and more than seven hours is linked to heart attack and stroke.
According to Shankar, "Sleep disturbances may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease even among apparently healthy subjects."
Subjects who said they slept longer than nine hours per day were one-and-a-half times more likely to develop heart disease than those who slept seven hours. Adults under sixty
| How to Get a Healthy Night’s Sleep |
Turn off the TV and computer at least an hour before bed
Keep your bedroom temperature between 60 and 70 degrees
Exercise at least 30 minutes every day
Don’t eat or drink within two hours before going to sleep
Keep your sleep schedule consistent—go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day
|
|
who slept fewer than five hours per day were three times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people who sleep seven hours. In addition, women who slept less than five hours a day were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to suffer heart attacks.
Researchers also discovered an "elevated but less dramatic risk" of cardiovascular health issues in those who slept for either six or eight hours each day. The results weren’t affected by sex, age, race, weight, activity level, or whether the subject smoked or drank. Even when study participants with diabetes, hypertension, or depression were excluded from the analysis, the increased risk of cardiovascular problems for those who slept more or less than seven hours persisted.
The researchers were unable to determine exactly why sleep duration affects heart health, but they did note that sleep duration affects endocrine and metabolic functions, and sleep deprivation leads to impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity, and elevated blood pressure, all of which raise the risk of hardening arteries.
A second study published in Sleep showed that sleeping extra hours one or two nights does not make up for sleeping too few hours previous nights. It takes several nights of extra sleep for people to regain their usual level of alertness.
Shankar concludes, "Our study findings may have important clinical and public health Implications, such as screening for changes in sleep duration by primary care physicians as a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease, or initiating public health initiatives focusing on improving sleep quality and quantity.”
Read the article abstract
Discuss in the Heart1 forums
