Growing evidence suggests that poor sleep is linked to numerous health problems, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity and increased risk of heart disease. Now, a recent study on middle-aged people has revealed this. Having a combination of sleep problems – similar to difficulty falling asleep, waking up within the wee hours of the morning, or sleeping lower than six hours an evening – can nearly triple an individual's risk of heart disease.
Who was within the study?
Researchers obtained data from 7,483 adults in midlife within the United States who reported details about their sleep habits and history of heart disease. A subset of participants (663 people) also used a wrist-worn device that recorded their sleep activity (actigraphy). A little bit greater than half of the participants were women. Three-quarters of individuals reported their race as white and 16 percent as black. The average age was 53 years.
The researchers selected to deal with people during midlife, because that is when adults experience diverse and stressful life experiences in each their work and family lives. It also occurs when coronary arteries turn out to be blocked or atherosclerosis (an early sign of heart disease) and age-related sleep problems begin to look.
How did researchers measure sleep problems?
Sleep health was measured using a composite of several elements of sleep, including:
- Regularity (whether participants slept more on non-work days than on work days)
- Satisfaction (whether or not they have trouble falling asleep; get up at night or early within the morning and might't get back to sleep; or feel sleepy in the course of the day)
- Alertness (how often they sleep for greater than five minutes)
- Efficiency (how long it took them to go to sleep while sleeping)
- Duration (what number of hours they typically slept each night).
To assess heart problems, the researchers asked participants “Have you ever suspected or had heart problems confirmed by a doctor?” and “Have you ever had severe pain in the front of your chest lasting half an hour or more?”
A “yes” answer to any query prompted follow-up questions on diagnoses, including angina (chest pain resulting from lack of blood flow to the guts muscle), heart attack, heart valve disease, Problems like irregular or fast heartbeats were included. , and heart failure.
Poor sleep is linked to increased heart risk.
The researchers controlled for aspects that would affect the outcomes, including family history of heart disease, smoking, physical activity, in addition to gender and race. They found that every additional increase in sleep problems was related to a 54 percent increased risk of heart disease in comparison with individuals with normal sleep patterns. However, the increased risk was much higher—141%—amongst those providing self-reported and wrist-worn device actigraphy data, which together are considered more accurate.
Although women reported more sleep problems, men were more prone to have heart disease. But overall, sex didn’t affect the connection between sleep and heart health.
Black participants reported more sleep and heart-related problems than white participants. But in each groups, more sleep problems increased the danger of heart disease.
This study is observational, so it cannot strongly prove the reported links. Regardless of sleep health issues, the researchers noted, minority people have a better risk of heart disease than white people. gave Social determinants of healthThings like income and the conditions where people live and work play a job in heart health.
What does this mean for you?
If you have got trouble falling or staying asleep, there are various ways to treat these common problems, from easy changes to your each day routine to specific cognitive behavioral therapy that targets sleep problems. These are value trying, as getting an excellent night's sleep helps in some ways.
“Treating sleep disorders that interfere with sleep can make you feel more alert during the day, improve your quality of life, and reduce the health risks associated with poor sleep,” says Dr. Epstein. can reduce,” says Dr. Epstein.