Irregular sleep increases the risk of stroke and heart disease by 26% - study
Kyiv • UNN
British scientists have found that unstable sleep times increase the risk of stroke and heart attacks, even with sufficient rest. The study covered more than 72 thousand people aged 40-79 years during 8 years of follow-up.
The habit of going to bed and waking up at different times every day can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure by 26%, even if you get enough sleep. This is stated in a study published in the journal Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, reports UNN.
why sleep regularity is important
Previously, scientists focused on the duration of sleep, recommending 7-9 hours of sleep a day. These recommendations remain relevant. However, a new study suggests that sleep regularity plays a key role — that is, the stability of the time when a person goes to bed and wakes up.
Experts noted that even 8 hours of sleep does not compensate for the harm from constant changes in the time of falling asleep and waking up.
research results
The study involved 72,269 people aged 40 to 79 who were participants in the British Biobank project. For seven days, they wore activity trackers that recorded their sleep. Based on these data, the sleep regularity index (SRI) was calculated for each participant — from 0 (very irregular sleep) to 100 (completely regular).
Participants were divided into three groups:
- Irregular sleep (SRI less than 71.6);
- Moderately irregular sleep (SRI 71.6 to 87.3);
- Regular sleep (SRI greater than 87.3).
Participants were followed up for eight years.
Main conclusions:
- People with irregular Raspberry sleep have a 26% higher risk of stroke, heart attack, or heart failure compared to those who followed a regular regimen.
- those who had moderately irregular sleep had an 8% increased risk.
- the risk of cardiovascular disease increased with increasing sleep irregularity, regardless of the duration of sleep.
how to reduce risks
Lead author Jean-Philippe chapeau of the University of Ottawa recommends waking up and going to bed within 30 minutes of the same time every day, including weekends.
"A deviation of an hour is already an irregular sleep, which can negatively affect your health. it is best to minimize this change to zero," explains Shapu.
He also noted that waking up at the same time every day is more important than going to bed at the same time.
If you need to catch up on a weekend's sleep, it's best to go to bed earlier than sleep longer. The awakening should remain stable even on Saturday and Sunday.
What else the researchers found
- 61% of people with regular sleep received the recommended duration of rest (7-9 hours for adults under 64 years of age and 7-8 hours for older people). Among those who had irregular sleep, this figure was only 48%.
- In moderately irregular sleepers, the risks were reduced if the sleep duration was sufficient.
- For people with irregular sleep patterns, adequate rest did not reduce the risk of heart disease.
At the same time, a direct causal relationship between irregular sleep and diseases has not been established.
"Our results suggest that sleep regularity may be even more important than its duration in reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes," the authors concluded.
