Folks who get six to seven hours of sleep a night no more no less have the lowest chance of dying from a heart attack or stroke according to new findings
Waking early or dozing on past that ideal window increases your risk of heart related death by about 45 researchers found
This trend remained true even after they accounted for other known risk factors for heart disease or stroke including age high blood pressure diabetes smoking BMI body mass index and high cholesterol levels
Even then sleep came out to be an independent risk factor said lead researcher Dr Kartik Gupta a resident in internal medicine at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit
For the study Gupta and his colleagues analyzed data from more than 14000 participants in the federally funded US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 and 2010 As part of the survey these folks were asked how long they usually slept
Researchers tracked participants for an average of 75 years to see if they died from a heart attack heart failure or stroke They also assessed their heart health risk scores as well as their blood levels of C reactive protein CRP which increases when theres inflammation in your body High CRP levels have been associated with heart disease
The research team found a U shaped relationship between heart risk and sleep duration with risk at its lowest among people who got between six and seven hours of sleep on average
A lack of sleep already has been linked to poor heart health said Dr Martha Gulati editor in chief of CardioSmartorg the American College of Cardiologys educational site for patients
We have a lot of data related to less sleep said Gulati a cardiologist She noted that a number of key heart risk factors blood pressure glucose tolerance diabetes and inflammation are exacerbated by too little sleep
Theres not as much evidence regarding those who slumber too long and their heart risk however Gulati and Gupta said
Gupta and his colleagues found one possible explanation in their research Based on patients levels of CRP inflammation accounted for about 14 of heart related deaths among short sleepers and 13 among long sleepers versus just 11 of folks who got the optimal six to seven hours of sleep
Patients who sleep for six to seven hours have the least CRP so this inflammation might be driving increased cardiovascular risk Gupta said
It might be that people who sleep longer than seven hours are just getting lousy sleep and so have to doze longer Gulati said Poor quality sleep could be driving the increased risk among late snoozers
You wonder if somebody is sleeping longer because they just didnt get a good nights sleep Gulati said I always say theres good sleep and theres bad sleep You might be in bed for eight hours but is it good quality sleepHere are some tips for improving your sleep courtesy of Harvard Medical School
Avoid caffeine and nicotine four to six hours from bedtime
Keep your bedroom dark quiet and cool to promote better sleep
Establish a relaxing routine an hour or so before bed
Dont try to force yourself to sleep if you arent asleep within about 20 minutes get up and do something relaxing for a bit until you feel sleepy
Eat dinner several hours before bedtime and avoid foods that can upset your stomach
Exercise earlier in the day at least three hours before bed
In the medical community we know its important to sleep but we still dont treat it like something we should be asking about routinely Gulati said I wish I could say doctors were good enough at asking about sleep I think it should be like a vital sign
The findings were presented virtually on May 15 at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology Findings presented at medical meetings are considered preliminary until published in a peer reviewed journal
What can be done about sleep apnea
Treatments like continuous positive airway pressure CPAP therapy have been extremely successful in treating sleep apnea and many of its related symptoms and comorbidities Treating underlying conditions of heart disease such as sleep apnea can greatly reduce the chances of developing more serious health problemsWhen patients that were both at risk for heart disease and had sleep apnea were treated with CPAP machines the patients nighttime and daytime blood pressure was significantly reduced
To fully assess the risk of sleep apnea and heart disease a sleep study should be performed by a sleep specialist to both diagnose the disorder and rule out any other sleep disorders or identify any sleep related comorbidities
Most insurance plans cover sleep studies as part of their policies While sleep studies can be somewhat costly they pale in comparison to the medical costs of treating heart disease
If you believe you may have sleep apnea and are concerned about the health risks associated with the disorder discuss your symptoms with your primary physician and ask if a sleep study is right for you And if you live in Alaska be sure to ask them about having your study performed at The Alaska Sleep Clinic or contact us for a free 10 minute phone consultation by clicking the link below
