The Magic 7 – Sleep & Cardiovascular Risk
A recent study shows that even among healthy people who regularly get five hours or less sleep a night have more than double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Also, people who regularly get nine or more hours of sleep a night have a greater than fifty percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Perhaps more surprising, people who get six or eight hours sleep also have a higher – but far less dramatic – increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
The study advised that seven hours sleep per night, not six or eight or anything more extreme, was the ideal regular sleep period for cardiovascular health.
But how could sleep period affect heart health?
The researchers suggested that shorter sleep times can cause “impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity, increased sympathetic [nerve] activity and elevated blood pressure,” all of which increase the risk of hardening of the arteries.
Longer sleep duration may be related to an underlying sleep-related breathing disorder or poor sleep quality.
This study was published in the August 1, 2010 issue of the journal, Sleep. It is available online with a subscription to the journal or a membership the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
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Yoga Helps Cancer Survivors
As many as two thirds of cancer patients suffer regularly from fatigue and difficulty sleeping long after their treatments have been discontinued. But a new study offers these people the promise of better sleep and improved quality of life.
Researchers found that cancer survivors who perform gentle yoga twice a week report they sleep better, feel less tired and enjoy better quality of life. The regimen included “breathing exercises, gentle Hatha and restorative yoga postures and mindfulness exercises.”
The largest study of its type, this brief outline was released May 20. Full details will be available when the study is formally presented at the June, 2010 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.