In a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, researchers found how disrupted sleep leads to the fatty arterial plaque buildup known as atherosclerosis that can result in deadly heart disease.
They discovered that fragmented sleep is linked to a unique pathway—chronic circulating inflammation throughout the bloodstream—which, in turn, is linked to higher amounts of plaques in coronary arteries.
The findings add poor sleep as a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which ranks as the top killer of Americans, with some 12,000 deaths each week—although COVID-19, which has killed, on average, 1,000 a day during the pandemic in the US, comes close.
Established risk factors for heart disease in humans include poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity, high blood pressure, and smoking.
In the study, the researchers analyzed the diagnostic data of more than 1,600 middle-aged and older adults using a national dataset.
The researchers then tracked the results of the study participants, analyzing their blood tests, their calcium scores that can gauge plaque buildup, as well as several different measures of sleep.
The final outcome clearly linked disrupted sleep patterns to higher concentrations of inflammatory factors and, specifically, of white blood cells known as monocytes and neutrophils, which are key players in atherosclerosis.
In revealing this link with chronic inflammation, the findings suggest a missing middleman that is brokering the bad deal between fragmented sleep and the hardening of blood vessels.
The findings linking poor sleep to atherosclerosis via chronic inflammation have major public health implications.
Atherosclerosis often begins in early adulthood. This process goes largely unnoticed until the plaque buildup, in middle or old age, suddenly blocks arterial blood flow to the heart, lungs, brain, and/or other organs, hence its moniker.
TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP
- Maintain a regular sleep routine, going to bed and waking up at the same time each day.
- As part of a nightly wind-down routine, avoid viewing computer, smartphone, and TV screens in the last hour before bedtime, and keep phones and other digital devices out of the bedroom.
- Engage in some form of physical exercise during the day.
- Get exposure to natural daylight, especially in the first half of the day.
- Avoid stimulants, like caffeine, and sedatives, like alcohol, later in the day.
- If you can’t sleep, get out of bed and do a relaxing activity away from the bedroom, such as reading in dim light. Only return to bed when you’re sleepy.
- Get screened for sleep apnea if you are known to be a heavy snorer and/or feel excessively tired during the day.
- Consult your doctor if you are experiencing insomnia, and inquire about cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI).
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The study is published in PLOS Biology. One author of the study is Matthew Walker.
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