Hardened Arteries Linked To Sleep

Western societies commonly have bad sleeping habits, previous studies have suggested short and long term sleep is associated with increased risk of CVD, but there is a lack of large studies objectively measuring sleep and subclinical atherosclerosis.

3,974 healthy middle aged adults with the average age of 46 were enrolled for this study who wore waistband activity monitors for 7 days to record sleep quantity and quality, who were then divided into 5 groups according to proportion of fragmented sleep, and 4 groups designating average hours slept per night: less than 6, 6-7, 7-8, and 8+. Atherosclerosis was assessed in neck and leg arteries using 3 dimensional ultrasound. 63% of the subjects were men.

Conventional cardiovascular risk factors and potential confounding factor were adjusted for such as gender, age, BMI, physical activity level, smoking level, alcohol level, blood pressure, blood glucose, education, cholesterol, marital status, caloric consumption, stress and depression questionnaire scores, and obstructive sleep apnoea risk. Findings showed short sleepers had more atherosclerosis with an odds ratio [OR] 1.27%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-1.52, p=0.008, highest quintile of fragment sleep were more likely to have multiple section of arteries with atherosclerosis [OR] 1.34, 95% CI 1.09-1.64, p=0.006, and subjects with short or disrupted sleep were also more likely to have metabolic syndrome.

Failure to get enough sleep and restlessness is suggested by the researchers to be considered as risk factors for blocking or narrowing of arteries; additional studies are required to find out if good sleep patterns can prevent or reverse this effect. It is recommended to take measures to ensure good sleep patterns including have a physically active lifestyle, avoiding coffee at night, and avoiding fatty foods before bedtime.