It is the stuff of nightmares for those whose hectic work schedule or
busy family life means getting up early and staying up late.
Sleeping for less than six hours a night greatly increases the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, a study has found.
Scientists
claim that the modern tendency to delay going to bed in order to get
through more of the items on the ‘to do’ list has serious health
consequences.
But beware. Having the time and the tendency to
retreat under the duvet for hours longer is not necessarily a health
guarantee. Those who have too much sleep are also more likely to suffer a
heart attack.
While the extra slumber is unlikely to be the
cause, long-term illnesses such as heart disease often make sufferers
feel tired, so sleeping for longer than nine hours a night may be an
early warning sign.
Researchers found that those who slept for
less than six hours were almost 50 per cent more likely to suffer a
heart attack and 15 per cent more at risk of strokes.
They believe
that not having enough sleep disrupts the balance of two key hormones,
ghrelin and leptin, which control the appetite. Poor sleepers
tend to eat more and are more likely to be obese, so are at greater risk
of high blood pressure and heart disease, which lead to heart attacks
and strokes. Experts recommend adults get at least six or seven hours’ shut-eye a night to stay healthy.
But
as many as 60 per cent of us do not think we are sleeping enough, with a
third suffering from insomnia. The researchers, from the University of
Warwick, warned that trying to cram too much into one day by going to
bed late and getting up early could lead to serious illnesses later in
life.
They looked at the sleeping habits of almost 475,000
participants from 15 previous studies across eight countries, including
the UK, the U.S., Japan, Sweden and Germany.
Proper rest: Sleeping for less than six hours a night greatly increases the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke.
Their findings, published in the European Heart Journal, show that
those who slept for less than six hours were 48 per cent more likely to
develop or die from heart disease and 15 per cent more likely to develop
or die from a stroke.
Not having enough sleep decreases the levels of leptin in our blood, which means we do not feel as satisfied after eating.
At the same time, it raises the levels of ghrelin, responsible for triggering our appetite, thus making us feel hungrier.
The scientists believe that our ‘work hard, play hard’ society encourages us to sacrifice sleep and compromises our health. Professor
Francesco Cappuccio, from the University of Warwick Medical School,
said: ‘If you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturbed
sleep you stand a 48 per cent greater chance of developing or dying from
heart disease and a 15 per cent greater chance of developing or dying
of a stroke. ‘The trend for late nights and early mornings is
actually a ticking time bomb for our health so you need to act now to
reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions. 'There
is an expectation in today’s society to fit more into our lives. The
whole work-life balance struggle is causing too many of us to trade in
precious sleeping time to ensure we complete all the jobs we believe are
expected of us. ‘But in doing so, we are significantly
increasing the risk of suffering a stroke or developing cardiovascular
disease resulting in, for example, heart attacks.’ Co-researcher
Dr Michelle Miller said: ‘Chronic short sleep produces hormones and
chemicals in the body which increase the risk of developing heart
disease and strokes, and other conditions like high blood pressure and
cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.’ But the scientists also warned that sleeping more than nine hours every night may be an early warning sign of heart disease.
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