Sleeping at night is better for the body. Reduces the risk of heart disease

Previous studies have shown the link between lack of sleep, Alzheimer's disease and high blood pressure (at least in women), but a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has added another link between sleep and another disease, cardiovascular disease.

The study, conducted by researchers from the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases of Carlos III University of Madrid and Tufts University in the United States, links sleep quality and risk heart disease and atherosclerosis.

"Cardiovascular disease is a major global problem and we are not able to treat it using many methods, including pharmaceuticals, physical activity and nutrition," says Dr. Jose Ordovas, lead author of the study. . "But this study confirms that we should consider sleep as an effective weapon – we can use it to fight heart disease."

The researchers obtained this conclusion after analyzing the medical data of 3,974 people, an average of 46 years, and compared in Spain with data from people who participated in an early atherosclerosis (PESA) study.

During the study, participants agreed to wear a device to record the person's sleep habits for 7 days. Participants were divided into 4 groups, one for people sleeping less than 6 hours a night and the other for people sleeping between 6 and 7 hours. And the third consisted of sleeping "7-8 hours", while the fourth included sleeping 8 hours at night.

All participants also had a three-dimensional ultrasound scan, as well as a computed tomography scan, to look for heart disease.

The study found, excluding other risk factors for heart disease, that the risk of atherosclerosis was increased by 27% in people sleeping less than 6 hours a night compared to people sleeping between 7 and 8 hours a night.

"This study is more accurate than previous research that indicated the same relationship because it was based on sleep patterns, not self-assessments of participants, which may not be reliable.