BENGALURU: Work, unsettled schedules, busy family life, Internet and sending texts and mails take up most of our time, which leads to minimum sleep time. When we sleep, our heart rate goes down by 10 to 30 beats which leads to decline in blood pressure, resulting in peaceful sleep. Less than six hours of sleep increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. We need sleep as much as we need to breathe and eat
What sleep does to our body
Sleep reduces blood pressure, releases beneficial hormones, revitalizes energy, eases muscles, boosts blood supply and advances tissue growth and repair. When we don’t allow our body to get necessary sleep, the process doesn’t happen in the beneficial way. When you’re denied of rest, your mind can’t work appropriately, influencing your intellectual capacities and enthusiastic state. In the long term, it can bring down your body’s guards, putting you at danger of developing a chronic illness and decision making abilities. The more clear indications of lack of sleep are excessive tiredness, yawning, and irritability. Though we might resort to consuming coffee to stay awake, it is not a viable option.
Sleep loss and heart disease
The effect of insufficient sleep on the heart can be quite significant. Many studies show that people who sleep less than six hours are at almost 50 per cent higher chance of developing heart disease or stroke and might even succumb to it. Chronic exposure to disturbed or insufficient sleep can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal lipid levels, increased risk of forming a blood clot and also developing diabetes. Optimal sleep of about eight hours allows the heart to get adequate rest. Interestingly excessive sleep, which is described more than nine hours also leads to heart disease or stroke with increased sickness and mortality, though the mechanism for this is less clear.
Obstructive sleep apnea
Snoring can be annoying to the ones listening to it. Regular snoring affects the heart and interrupting the supply of oxygen to vital organs. It occurs due to the mechanical obstruction that blocks the upper airway when asleep. Such people are prone to high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythm, heart failure and other forms of heart and arterial disease. This happens due to the release of certain harmful substances in the body which acts on the blood vessels and the heart. Although obstructive sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder, it can be treated. One way, is the use of a device that will help the person snoring to keep his airway open while he sleeps. Other options can be a mouthpiece to push his jaw forward during sleep, or in more complicated cases certain surgeries also help. Do not ignore snoring, especially when associated with increased daytime drowsiness or sleeping. It could lead to cardiovascular disease.
Lifestyle
A severe cause of heart problems related to lack of sleep is obesity which strains one’s body, especially the heart. Less sleep releases hunger hormones like ghrelin and cortisol resulting in unwanted increase in appetite. This in turn leads to obesity that paves the risk of a heart disease.
Another major cause leading to the lack of sleep and hence, heart issues, is depression. Sleep disturbance and depression are always seen to be interrelated. This close relation between both creates a negative impact on the heart, making it an important factor leading up to heart disease. Sleep deprivation can also lead to accidents at work or while driving, can cause premature wrinkling of skin, irritability & forgetfulness, decreased libido, decreased fertility and decreased immunity leading to frequent infections such as the common cold.
The author is a chief of non - invasive Cardiology at Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road