A new study suggests you should get a good night’s sleep to keep your heart healthy, CNN reports. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country. Every 34 seconds, someone in the US dies from cardiovascular disease.
In June, the American Heart Association added sleep duration to its cardiovascular health checklist, now called “Life’s Essential 8”. These science-based guidelines were designed to improve heart health for all Americans.
Quitting tobacco, eating better, getting active, managing weight, managing blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, and getting quality sleep are the eight items.
Researchers behind the change published some of their findings in the American Heart Association journal. Scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health found that sleep is more effective than cardiovascular health guidelines in predicting heart disease risk.
A study in the US called the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) examined sleep records from 2,000 middle-aged and older adults.
A detailed sleep study was conducted on the participants. For seven days, they wore a device measuring their sleep and took part in an overnight study where scientists were able to observe how they slept.
Americans, including the study participants, have poor sleep habits, according to the study. Sixty-three percent slept less than seven hours a night, and thirty percent slept less than six hours. The CDC recommends that adults sleep between seven and nine hours a night.
Low sleep efficiency, irregular sleep patterns, excessive daytime sleepiness and sleep apnea are more common among people who sleep less than seven hours a night. The study found that nearly half of the participants suffered from moderate to severe sleep apnea. More than a third of respondents reported insomnia symptoms, and 14% reported excessive daytime sleepiness.
Obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity were more prevalent among those who slept less than seven hours. Short sleep has also been linked to chronic diseases that may affect heart health.
“Poor sleep is also linked to other poor health behaviors,” said study author Nour Makarem, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. Heart disease is also caused by those poor health behaviors.
