Word: heart
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...evidence continues to mount on the health benefits of adequate sleep. A new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that sleeping less than seven and a half hours a day may be associated with a greater risk for heart disease, particularly for those whose blood pressure spikes overnight...
...huge impact on human health," says the study's lead author, Dr. Kazuo Eguchi of Jichi Medical University in Tochigi, Japan. Past studies have linked improper sleep habits - sleeping either too little or too much - to disorders such as obesity and diabetes as well as a higher risk of heart attacks and premature death. (See TIME's A-Z Health Guide...
Eguchi's study examined the connection between sleep and heart disease among elderly people. Over a 50-month period, researchers monitored 1,225 people with an average age of 70 and a history of hypertension. For the duration of the study, participants recorded their nightly sleep habits in a sleep diary; their blood pressure was monitored all day and night, using an ambulatory blood pressure monitor, a small halter-like device that takes readings every 30 minutes 24 hours a day. Cardiovascular events including stroke, heart attack and sudden cardiac death were tracked among the participants...
...than seven and a half hours a night and had elevated overnight blood pressure - the so-called "riser pattern" - compared with longer sleepers. But those who slept less than seven and a half hours a night yet experienced no overnight hypertension showed no increased cardiac risk; their rate of heart disease was the same as that of the long sleepers. Particularly when it comes to elderly patients, the authors write that "physicians should inquire about sleep duration in the risk assessment of patients with hypertension...
...sleep is, therefore, especially vital for patients who already have high blood pressure. Maintaining a consistent sleep pattern is also important - tampering with the body's circadian rhythm is associated with a variety of hormonal, metabolic and cardiovascular problems. In late October, Swedish researchers reported that the rate of heart attacks jumped following daylight savings time shifts in the spring and fall. "Our data suggest that vulnerable people might benefit from avoiding sudden changes in their biologic rhythms," Dr. Imre Janszky of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm wrote...