Bad Sleep Habits Could Mean A Bad Heart And Many Other Problems
Many times I have talked about developing regimentation into your life. By that, I mean doing everyday things at the same time, like going to bed the same time, waking up the same time, doing your workout the same time and so on down the line. I am a firm believer that regimentation in your life will give you a much healthier body and a happier life.
According to new research from Harvard Medical School, an erratic sleep schedule may be increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), like going to bed late one night, early the next. A new five-year study found that, in older adults, irregular sleep patterns lead to higher rates of heart attacks and strokes than a more regular nightly schedule does.
“Unlike age and family history, sleep is something we have the potential to modify. Anytime we can identify a modifiable risk factor for CVD, we gain another weapon in our battle against the leading killer of people in the United States,” says Tomas Ayala, MD, a board-certified cardiologist at the heart center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, who was not involved in the study.
Researchers followed the people for the next five years. The ones with the most irregular sleep duration or timing (meaning they changed how long they slept or what times they went to bed and woke up) ended up with more than twice the risk for a CVD event compared with people with the most regular sleep patterns.
Good quality sleep is essential to maintaining overall health, while poor quality increases the risks of such conditions as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
A good nights sleep can help you in many ways:
1. Poor sleep is linked to higher body weight
2. Good sleepers tend to eat fewer calories
3. Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity
4. Good sleep can maximize athletic performance
5. Poor sleepers have a greater risk of heart disease and stroke
6. Sleep affects glucose metabolism and type 2 diabetes risk
7. Poor sleep is linked to depression
8. Sleep improves your immune function
9. Poor sleep is linked to increased inflammation
10. Sleep affects emotions and social interactions
That five-year study found that, in older adults at least, irregular sleep patterns lead to higher rates of heart attacks and strokes than a more regular nightly schedule does. This means that sleep schedules join high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes as a serious risk factor for heart disease.
Researchers followed the people for the next five years. The ones with the most irregular sleep duration or timing (meaning they changed how long they slept or what times they went to bed and woke up) ended up with more than twice the risk for a CVD event compared with people with the most regular sleep patterns. The research was published online on March 2 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Like many systems in the body, the cardiovascular system relies on our circadian rhythms to maintain normal functioning. Blood pressure, for example, goes down at night, rises sharply before we wake up, and is generally the highest midmorning. Morning is also a time when people are more prone to suffer from heart attacks, strokes, and sudden cardiac deaths, experts have found.
Good quality sleep is essential to maintaining overall health, while poor quality increases the risks of such conditions as diabetes and obesity.
So in addition to improving your physical activity, eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight, among other things, if you want to lower your risk of heart disease you might want to get into the habit of going to bed and rising on a consistent schedule every day.
