Sleep duration

Sleep duration and cardiac death link seen in study

US team found relevant data how sleeping very little may cause bad impact in our heart. Among 58,044 men and women 45 years of age or older without heart disease at study entry, those who slept 5 hours or less or 9 hours or more, were significantly more likely to die from cardiovascular disease over the next several years than people who logged7 hours a night. These findings back the results of other studies that have suggested how long people sleep may be a key predictor of their heart disease risk. Most research on sleep duration and heart disease has been in Western populations, aside from three studies in Japan, the researchers note.


To investigate, the researchers looked at people participating in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. The study participants, who were ethnic Chinese living in Singapore, were enrolled between1993 and 1998, and followed through the end of 2006. During that time, 1,416 people died of heart disease. 35 of the study participants said they got 7 hours of sleep a night. People who slept for 5 or less or 9 or more hours were more likely to have several different heart disease risk factors than those who slept for 7 hours, such as smoking and eating fewer fruits and vegetables and more fat and cholesterol. But even after the researchers adjusted the data to account for these risk factors, they found that people who slept 5 hours or less were 57% more likely to die of heart
disease. Some investigators have suggested that sleeping longer may indicate underlying poor health.