People with sleep disorders have an increased risk of making a stroke or a heart attack.
Insomnia is characterized by poor sleep quality caused by a difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, accompanied by concentration problems and fatigue during the day. Insomnia has negative effects on physical and mental health. It is bad for the heart and could lead to depression. Stress is often behind insomnia.
The consequences for the heart of only 3 nights of insomnia
Researchers from the University of Uppsala in Sweden noted that 3 nights of limited sleep (approximately 4 hours per night) triggered a clear increase in inflammatory markers linked to heart disease (1). The study was carried out on 16 young men in good health. When these inflammatory proteins remain high for a long time, they can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of problems such as heart failure, coronary diseases and atrial fibrillation. “It is striking to note that these changes have occurred even in young and healthy adults, and after only a few nights of bad sleep, comments Annie Curtis,, Professor at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Dublin (2). It is worrying when you know that it is common for adults to have a bad sleep from time to time – and that around one in four works in positions that disturb their sleep habits. “
Difficulty falling asleep, early awakenings, concentration disorders: insomnia threatens the heart
In another study published in the journal Neurologyresearchers have been interested in different symptoms of insomnia and their impact on cardiovascular risk (3). They asked 487,200 participants (average age 51 years) without a history of cardiovascular disease, if they had at least 3 times a week, one of the 3 symptoms of insomnia: difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, wakeing up too early in the morning, difficulties in concentrated the day due to a lack of sleep.
Among the participants, 11.3 % said they had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, 10.4 % said they woke up early and 2, 2 % had trouble staying concentrated during the day. During the follow -up period which lasted 10 years, more than 130,000 participants underwent a cardiovascular event.
People who presented The 3 symptoms of insomnia had 18 % risk in addition to having cardiovascular disease that people who had no symptoms of insomnia. Participants who had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep had 9 % risk in addition to undergoing a stroke (stroke) or heart disease that people do not present this disorder. Among the 55,127 people with this symptom, 17,650, or 32%, experienced a cardiovascular accident, against 112,382 (26%) of 432,073 people without this symptom.
People who wake up too early in the morning have an increased risk of 7 %cardiovascular disease, those who find it difficult to stay focused during the day due to mediocre sleep see their risk increasing by 13 %.
These results are added to those of a meta-analysis including more than 122,000 people showing that insomnia increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality (4).
Sleeping better: an issue for cardiovascular health
According to these results, insomnia can be considered as a modifiable risk factor in cardiovascular disease. Sleep is one of the pillars of our health with food and physical activity.
Behavioral therapy can help you solve long -term insomnia problems, also melatonin. Finally, to fight against your insomnia and regain sleep, lanutrition.fr gives you 10 natural tips.
