You can train hard, eat right, avoid smoking, and have no genetic predisposition to heart disease, but if you get little rest or spend a lot of time sleeping, your heart may be in danger. This is defended by a new study from the University of Colorado, which has had the participation of almost half a million people.
In the study, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Manchester analyzed the genetic information, sleep habits and medical check-ups of 461.000 UK Biobank participants, aged between 40 and 69, who had never suffered from a heart attack. They followed them for seven years.
Those who slept less than six hours a night had a 20% more likely to have a heart attack for the duration of the study than those who slept 7 to 8 hours a night. And what happened to those who slept more than nine hours? They were 34% more likely to have a heart attack than those who slept in the middle.
Heart attack risk increased as people went out of the optimal 6 to 9 hour range. those who slept alone hours a night had a 52% higher risk higher than those who slept 7 to 8 hours a night. Those who slept a lot or more than 10 hours each night had the double the odds of having a heart attack.
The danger remained even after the researchers accounted for 30 other common cardiovascular risk factors, such as usual levels of exercise, mental health, body composition, and socioeconomic status.
Additionally, getting the optimal amount of sleep also lowered the risk of heart attack for those with a family history of heart disease. For those with a genetic predisposition, getting 6 to 9 hours of sleep a night reduced their risk of heart attack by 18%.
«It's kind of a message of hope, that regardless of what your inherited heart attack risk is, getting a healthy amount of sleep can reduce that risk as can eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and other lifestyle approaches.commented the author, Iyas Daghlas, in a press release.
It is not known exactly how light or long sleep increases the risk of heart attack. However, a large number of studies show that chronic sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on the body, increasing systemic inflammation, disrupting normal appetite and satiety hormones, as well as hampering immunity. All of this makes you more susceptible to a host of diseases including obesity, diabetes and heart disease, and even premature death.
What happens if we sleep too much?
Sleeping too long can also increase inflammation in the body, which is associated with cardiovascular disease. You may be wondering what you can do if you find yourself at the point of sleeping more than 10 hours (although it is quite rare that our pace of life allows this habit). In principle, you should not worry, since there are people who genetically need a greater amount of sleep.
But in other cases, the need for sleep may be reflecting an undiagnosed health problem, such as depression or sleep apnea, which interrupts the quality of sleep and compensates with more quantity. In that case, you should see a doctor for a checkup. Although there may be other factors as well, such as medication side effects or a difficult sleep schedule related to shift work.
In those cases, it's worth making an appointment with your doctor to discuss your sleep problems, determine the underlying causes, and find ways to get on a better sleep schedule. Especially to improve health and reduce the risk of heart attack.