Poor sleep can spike heart disease risk

Poor sleep can spike heart disease risk


When you drift off to sleep, there’s more at stake than just a night’s rest. The collective effect of poor sleep can raise heart disease risk by as much as 141%.

That’s what University of South Florida researchers found recently after studying the sleep data from nearly 7,000 U.S. adults whose average age was 53. They focused on multiple aspects of sleep health, including duration and the number of waking hours. They also considered the timing and efficiency of sleep.

These aspects were then linked to physician-diagnosed heart disease. The results are enough to cause chest pains just thinking about it: Each additional increase in self-reported sleep problems is associated with a 54% increase in heart disease risk.

Those who self-reported their sleep issues and also wore a research device on their wrist to capture sleep activity logged more accurate — and even more concerning — figures. For them, the risk of heart disease jumped by 141%.

The researchers dubbed the findings “co-existing sleep health problems” and the study is among the first of its kind to assess the cumulative link between sleep issues and heart disease.

The study also revealed a definite gender disparity: Women reported having more sleep health problems but men were more likely to have heart disease.

Researchers say the findings can be informative for those at increased risk of heart disease due to sleep habits and quality. They noted that middle age is especially crucial for heart disease development because it spans a long period of time and is often accompanied by stressful work and family roles.

Clearly, better sleep does more than just make you chipper in the morning. It can also keep your heart humming along.

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