When work stress and lack of sleep are a deadly mix

Stressful work associated with sleep disorders is associated with a three-fold higher risk of cardiovascular death in hypertensive employees.

Most of us know that work – related stress is not good for the body; nor the lack of a good night's sleep. Stress and lack of sleep are associated with all kinds of health risks, but for people with hypertension, the combination is even worse.

How bad is it? According to a new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, work-related stress and sleep disorders are associated with a risk of cardiovascular death three times higher in people with hypertension.

"Sleep should be a time for recreation, relaxation and restoring energy levels.If you suffer from stress at work, sleep helps you recover.But unfortunately, poor sleep and Workplace stress often goes hand in hand, "said one of the authors, Karl-Heinz Ladwig, of the German Center for Environmental Health Research and the Faculty of Medicine at the Technical University of Munich. .

This study is the first to examine how workplace stress and sleep disorders contribute to death from cardiovascular disease in workers with hypertension.

The study involved 1,959 workers in the MONICA / KORA cohort aged 25 to 65 years – all participants were hypertensive, but without cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Compared with those who do not experience work stress and sleep well, the odds of death from cardiovascular disease were three times higher for those with both risk factors. People with only work-related stress were 1.6 times more likely, while those with little sleep were 1.8 times more likely to be at risk.

The definition of stress at work is interesting: jobs with high demand and low control. In other words, jobs in which expectations are high, but the worker does not have the power to make decisions. "If you have high requirements, but also have significant control, in other words, you can make decisions, it can even be good for your health," Ladwig said. "But being trapped in a pressure situation that you have no power to change is harmful."

Sleep disorders were defined as having difficulty falling asleep and / or staying asleep. "Maintaining sleep is the most common problem among people with stressful jobs," Ladwig said. "They get up at 4 in the morning to go to the bathroom and come back to bed discussing how to deal with their work problems."

"These are insidious problems," he said. "The risk is not having a hard day and no sleep.He suffers from stressful work and poor sleep for many years, which weakens energy resources and can lead to a grave early. "

"Each condition is a risk factor in itself and there is a cross-talk between them, which means that each one increases the risk of the other." Physical activity, healthy eating and relaxation strategies are important, as well as a reduction in hypotensive treatment, if necessary "says Ladwig.

It's a difficult situation. Most people do not have the luxury of changing jobs. but stress adds to sleep deprivation, lack of sleep adds to stress and all increase the increased risk of cardiovascular death in hypertensive workers. It would be good to see employers apply more stress management measures in their workplace, and workers would be well served by their own stress reduction and sleep promotion activities. Four-day work weeks and nature breaks, do you feel like it?

To learn more about research, see the study here: Combined effect of work-related stress and sleep disorders on coronary and cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive workers: MONICA / KORA cohort study.