Irregular Sleep Can Increase The Risk Of Cardiovascular Problems
Good sleep is essential for good general health. However, it is not only important to sleep a certain number of hours; also the regularity in the hours that they sleep is very important. Here we tell you the relationship between irregular sleep and increased risk of cardiovascular problems.
What are cardiovascular problems?
Cardiovascular diseases are a group of different pathologies that affect the heart and blood vessels. They are the leading cause of death worldwide. In other words, each year more people die from any of these pathologies than from any other cause.
In addition, due to our lifestyle and the evolution of society, more and more people suffer from any of these disorders. They are a public health problem and many studies are being carried out to try to clearly establish the risk factors, so that they can be acted upon.
Some examples of cardiovascular diseases are:
- Arterial hypertension
- Myocardial infarction
- Stroke: cerebrovascular accident
- Heart failure
What is the importance of sleep?
As we have already discussed, sleeping well, as well as eating well or other daily activities, is essential to maintaining good health. Not resting properly has negative consequences, both psychologically and physically.
During sleep we rest the mind and body. Our entire body takes a break to be able to be one hundred percent the next day. A bad continuous rest causes us to accumulate fatigue and stress, so that our body will not be able to perform all its functions correctly.
All this means that, if the situation continues for a long time, and our body does not work as it should, the risk of developing certain diseases increases, both psychological – stress or depression – and physical – cardiovascular diseases and metabolic problems, above all.
What does it mean that the dream is irregular?
A good rest does not only imply that the number of hours they sleep is adequate. What does this mean? How regular it is will also affect the quality of our sleep and our biological rhythms.
If the number of hours we sleep varies a lot from one day to the next, or if we go to bed and wake up at very different times throughout the day, we will have an irregular sleep. Having irregular sleep means that our body cannot get used to a rest routine, that our circadian rhythms get out of control and that the body does not perform as it should.
Is irregular sleep related to cardiovascular problems?
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston conducted a study. They investigated men between the ages of 60 and 70 with no history of cardiovascular problems. They fitted a follow-up monitor, which each participant wore on their wrist, and reported the participants’ bedtime, sleep duration, and waking time to the researchers.
Using this information, they analyzed which participants had suffered a cardiovascular problem and related it to their sleep pattern. The researchers suggested that the risk of cardiovascular problems more than doubled in participants who did not maintain a regular quantity and quality of sleep.
Good rest protects against cardiovascular problems
Many times, when it comes to preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, we focus on diet, exercise, and medications. However, we forget such a fundamental and simple part as a correct dream is.
Therefore, studying patients with cardiovascular risk also taking into account their type of sleep, and correcting it with hygiene measures, can help prevent many of these pathologies. Even so, researchers continue to work to carry out new studies that expand the knowledge in this regard.
