Sleep Disorders So severely less than six hours of sleep per night!

What are the effects of too little sleep on our health?

Many people do not sleep well for a variety of reasons. This often results in people only sleeping a few hours a night. Physicians have now found that sleeping less than six hours a night increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Foundation (CNIC) found that people who regularly sleep less than six hours a night at night seem to be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The physicians published the results of their research in the English journal "Journal of the American College of Cardiology".

A recent study has shown that the time of nocturnal sleep and sleep quality can have a negative impact on our risk of cardiovascular disease. (Image: fizkes / fotolia.com)

What measures were used in the investigation?

In their study, the researchers focused on nearly 4,000 subjects who were not known for heart disease. The average age of the participants was 46 years and two thirds of the subjects were men. The participants carried a so-called Actigraph for a period of seven days. Such a device is a non-invasive method for examining human activity and rest cycles. In addition, 3D cardiac ultrasound and cardiac computed tomography (MRI) scans were performed to examine the participants for heart disease.

Insufficient sleep increased the risk of atherosclerosis by 27 percent

The results of the study showed that people sleeping less than six hours a night were 27 percent more likely to develop atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis) compared to people sleeping between seven and eight hours at night. Atherosclerosis causes an accumulation of plaque in the arteries of the body.

Protect your heart by getting enough sleep

As the study has shown, sleep can be considered as a cure for heart disease, says study author José M. Ordovás of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Foundation (CNIC). If people do not get enough sleep, they endanger the health of their heart every day, warns the expert.

Sleep quality affects the risk of arteriosclerosis

Also, the quality of sleep is important to avoid arteriosclerosis. Subjects with poor sleep quality were 34 percent more likely to develop arteriosclerosis compared to people who had good sleep quality, say the physicians.

Other results on this topic

The current study is not the first study suggesting that poor sleep and lack of sleep can harm the body. For example, there are three different studies presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology last September, which showed that a sleep time of six to eight hours per night can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. Another study last year found that it's also important at what time we go to bed. This joint study by Northwestern University and the University of Surrey found that people who went to bed later had a higher mortality rate compared to those who went to bed earlier. (As)