Scientists from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research found that 9 in 10 people do not get a good night’s sleep.
They found that bad sleep was linked to a higher likelihood of heart disease and stroke. They estimated that seven in ten of these health conditions could be prevented if everyone was a good sleeper.
Previous studies on sleep and heart disease have generally focused on one sleep habit, such as sleep duration or sleep apnea, where breathing stops and starts while sleeping.
In addition, prior studies have often assessed sleep at baseline only. The current study used a healthy sleep score combining five sleep habits.
They examined the association between the baseline sleep score, changes over time in the sleep score, and heart disease.
This study included 7,200 participants of the Paris Prospective Study III (PPP3), an observational community‐based prospective cohort.
Men and women aged 50 to 75 years and free of cardiovascular disease were recruited to a preventive medical center between 2008 and 2011. They were followed for 10 years.
A healthy sleep score ranging from 0 to 5 was calculated, with 0 or 1 considered poor and 5 considered optimal.
Those with an optimal score reported sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night, never or rarely having insomnia, no frequent excessive daytime sleepiness, no sleep apnea, and an early chronotype (being a morning person).
The researchers found that the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke decreased by 22% for every 1-point rise in the sleep score at baseline.
More specifically, compared to those with a score of 0 or 1, participants with a score of 5 had a 75% lower risk of heart disease or stroke.
The researchers found that if all participants had an optimal sleep score, 72% of new cases of coronary heart disease and stroke might be avoided each year.
They also found that a 1-point increment over time was associated with a 7% reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.
The study illustrates the potential for sleeping well to preserve heart health and suggests that improving sleep is linked with lower risks of coronary heart disease and stroke.
Given that heart disease is the top cause of death worldwide, greater awareness is needed on the importance of good sleep for maintaining a healthy heart.
If you care about sleep, please read studies about herbs that could help you sleep well at night, and these drugs could lower the severity of sleep apnea by one-third.
For more information about sleep, please see recent studies that coffee boosts your physical activity, cuts sleep, affects heartbeat, and results showing how to deal with “COVID-somnia” and sleep well at night.
The research was presented at ESC Congress 2022 and conducted by Dr. Aboubakari Nambiema et al.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
