Poor Sleep Habits Increases an Individual's Risk of Heart Disease

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for people in the United States. A new study has revealed that poor sleep habits may put you at higher risk for heart diseases when compared to those who get around seven hours of good quality sleep every night. Study co-lead author Chan-Won Kim from Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, said, "Inadequate sleep is a common problem and a likely source of poor health, including visible signs of disease, such as heart attack."

For the study, researchers analyzed more than 47,000 young and middle-aged adults who completed a sleep questionnaire and had advanced tests to detect early coronary artery lesions and measure arterial stiffness.

The findings suggested that adults who slept five or fewer hours a day had 50% more calcium in their coronary arteries than those who slept seven hours a day, while people who slept nine or more hours a day had more than 70% more coronary calcium compared to those who sleep seven hours. Adults who reported poor sleep quality had more than 20% more coronary calcium than those who reported good sleep quality.

Study co-lead author Yoosoo Chang, associate professor at Kangbuk Samsun Hospital in South Korea, said, "We also observed a similar pattern when we measured arterial stiffness. Adults with poor sleep quality have stiffer arteries than those who sleep seven hours a day or had good sleep quality. Overall, we saw the lowest levels of vascular disease in adults sleeping seven hours a day and reporting good sleep quality."

The study was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Source-IANS