14 DAY TRIAL // As it turns out, sleep deprivation does more than just make people cranky and give them puffy eyes and dark circles. It also affects cardiovascular health and makes us more vulnerable to heart attacks, even strokes.
So say researchers with the World Health Organization in a report that they presented at this year's annual meeting of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions of the European Society of Cardiology in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Sleeping patterns influence health
EurekAlert tells us that, as part of their investigation into how not getting enough rest can affect people's overall health condition, the scientists monitored 657 volunteers over a period of time of 14 years.
The study began in 1994. At that time, the volunteers, all men living in the city of Novosibirsk in Russia, were between the ages of 25 and 64, and neither had a history of diabetes, stroke or heart attack.
Over the study period, however, some of them got sick. Interestingly, the researchers found that the study participants who more often than not didn't get enough sleep were the ones most likely to experience a stroke or a heart attack.
Specifically, volunteers diagnosed with one sleeping disorder or another were found to have a 2 to 2.6 higher risk of myocardial infarction and a 1.5 to 4 times higher stroke risk when compared to the more well-rested study participants.
“Sleep is not a trivial issue. In our study it was associated with double the risk of a heart attack and up to four times the risk of stroke,” Professor Gafarov said in a statement.
“Poor sleep should be considered a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease along with smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet,” the researcher went on to explain.
Interestingly, previous studies have found evidence that sleep deprivation can also translate into psychological trouble such as anxiety and depression. At the very least, not getting enough rest can leave people bad-tempered.
How much sleep is enough sleep?
The fact that some people require more sleep than others is not exactly breaking news. For most guys and gals, getting a solid 7 hours of rest usually does the trick and perks them up for a brand new day ahead. Kids and teenagers, however, usually need more.
Earlier this year, specialists with the National Sleep Foundation in the US released a brand new set of guidelines on how much sleep people should get depending on their age. Worry not, you can find these guidelines below:
- Newborns (0-3 months): 14 to 17 hours per day
- Infants (4-11 months): 12 to 15 hours per day
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11 to 14 hours per day
- Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10 to 13 hours per day
- School-age children (6-13 years): 9 to 11 hours per day
- Teenagers (14-17 years): 8 to 10 hours per day
- Younger adults (18-25 years): 7 to 9 hours per day
- Adults (26-64 years): 7 to 9 hours per day
- Older adults (over 65 years): 7 to 8 hours per day