Irregular sleep increases the risk of heart attack and stroke

The work published in the journal Epidemiology & Community Health, on November 25, from the University of Ottawa, Canada, shows that irregular sleep can lead to serious cardiovascular problems such as heart attack and stroke. Even if you get 8 hours of sleep every night, sleeping irregularly still increases the risk of these diseases by more than 20%.

Researchers analyzed data from 72,269 people aged 40 to 79 years old. All volunteers had no history of serious cardiovascular events. They were asked to wear activity trackers for 7 days to record their sleeping habits. The researchers then used data from the device to calculate a Sleep Regulation Index (SRI) score for each participant.

People with SRI scores above 87.3 are considered to have regular sleep habits, while scores below 71.6 are considered irregular sleepers. People with scores from 71.6 – 87.3 are classified as average irregular sleepers.

The results showed that even after adjusting for variables such as coffee consumption and physical activity levels, people with irregular sleep had a 26% higher risk of heart-related events than those with irregular sleep patterns. People who have regular sleeping habits. People with moderately irregular sleep were also 8% more likely to have these serious health problems.

Dr. Jean – Philippe Chaput, who led the study, emphasized the importance of maintaining regular sleep in public health guidelines and clinical practice.

Emily McGrath, senior cardiovascular nurse at the British Heart Foundation, also warns about the link between irregular sleep and heart disease risk. She explains that disturbed sleep is linked to increased levels of the protein CRP, a marker of inflammation, a process linked to cardiovascular disease. In addition, sleep can also indirectly affect cardiovascular health by impacting our lifestyle.