Such conclusions are contained in a study whose results will be presented during the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology, which will be held in virtual mode at the end of March as part of the World Congress of Cardiology.
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Scientists from the University of Athens (Greece) have collected data on the usual duration of night sleep for more than one and a half thousand residents of villages in one of the country’s rural regions. Among the participants, whose age ranged from 40 to 98 years old, there were both healthy people and those who had risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, or were already diagnosed with such diseases. According to the results of the survey, all participants were divided into four groups: people with normal sleep duration (seven to eight hours per night), little sleep at night (six to seven hours), very little sleep at night (less than six hours) and a lot of sleeping at night (more than eight hours).
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In addition to participating in the survey, all people also underwent ultrasound examination on the wall thickness of the carotid artery. This indicator reflects the degree of development of atherosclerosis and, accordingly, the risk of cardiovascular disease – the thicker the inner walls of the carotid artery, the higher its stiffness, the more atherosclerotic plaques, the higher the risk of stroke or heart attack.
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An analysis of all the information gathered showed that the relationship between the duration of night sleep and the risk of cardiovascular disease reflects a U-shaped graph. Compared with the “normal” group, among those who regularly slept at night for less than six hours or more than eight hours, the risk of thickening the walls of the carotid artery, reducing its flexibility and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in it was increased by 54% and 39%, respectively.
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The obtained results once again demonstrate that the duration of sleep is the same risk factor for cardiovascular diseases as nutrition and the level of physical activity, the authors of the study note.
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What biological mechanisms underlie the relationship between sleep and the state of heart and vascular health is still unclear. Lead author Evangelos Oikonomou suggested that unhealthy habits such as alcohol abuse, smoking, fast food addiction can be more common among people who are used to sleeping a little, they can suffer from stress and being overweight. And those who are used to sleeping for a long time at night can generally lead a low-activity lifestyle, which negatively affects the heart and blood vessels.
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