Irregular sleep patterns ‘increase risk of silent killers’

Sleeping at different times each night can put you at risk of heart attack and fatal stroke, scientists warn.

They said that an irregular sleep pattern of just a few hours increased the chances of developing these diseases.

The study tracked sleep patterns, heart attack and stroke rates in 2,000 adults in the United States over three years.

It turned out that the risk of a heart attack increased by 140% in people with an irregular sleep pattern of just over two hours a week.

They also found that the number of people with irregular sleep patterns of more than two hours increased by 120% within a week.

Study lead author Kelsey Fall of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, believes people need to improve their sleep to take care of their heart health.

She added: “Maintaining a regular sleep schedule and reducing sleep variability is an easily modifiable lifestyle that can not only help improve sleep, but also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults.”

Cardiovascular disease is a general term for conditions that affect the heart or blood vessels and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

Moreover, there are cases of heart attacks, when the blood supply to the heart is difficult due to the accumulation of cholesterol, and strokes, when this happens when blood reaches the brain.

High blood pressure and cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, being overweight and not exercising all increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The full study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Source: Sun