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Less than 6 hours sleep may lead to heart disease
The team found that 29 per cent of people who slept less than six hours a night met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, compared to 24 per cent for those who slept between six and seven hours a night.
- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2008
- Published: 00:27 May 5, 2008
Getting less than six hours sleep a night could double the chances of developing a condition linked to heart disease, American scientists have found.
A lack of sleep was found to raise the risk of metabolic syndrome, a set of symptoms including high cholesterol, increased blood pressure, a large waist measurement and problems controlling blood sugar levels.
The syndrome is considered an early warning of diabetes and heart disease and can be counteracted with a healthier lifestyle and drugs.
Last week, scientists reported that death rates from heart disease in younger women may be on the rise after dropping steadily for decades.
Heart disease kills 105,000 people in Britain each year and 2.6million people are known to be living with the condition.
A team at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that sleep duration also affects symptoms associated with heart disease and, in a separate study, researchers at Warwick Medical School in Coventry found the most conclusive evidence yet that lack of sleep increases the likelihood of being obese. Both studies were published recently in the journal Sleep.
Feeling of fullness
Sleep deprivation affects the balance of hormones that control appetite and the feeling of fullness after a meal.
Martica Hall, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, investigated the sleep patterns of 1,214 adults between 30-54 years of age. "This relationship was strongest in the group of men and women who slept less than six hours per night. On average, the odds of having the metabolic syndrome were nearly doubled in men and women who slept less than six hours, compared to those who slept between seven and eight hours per night," said Dr Hall.
The team found that 29 per cent of people who slept less than six hours a night met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, compared to 24 per cent for those who slept between six and seven hours a night. The risk was lowest in people who had seven to eight hours sleep a night.
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