For a Healthier Heart, Stick to 6 to 8 Hours of Sleep

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When it comes to sleep, people seem to have different needs. But how much sleep is best for your heart?

A new analysis of 11 studies that included a total of more than 1 million adults without heart disease suggests the sweet spot is six to eight hours a night. The studies were published within the past five years.

The researchers compared adults who slept between six and eight hours to others. Adults who slept less or more than that were, respectively, 11 percent and 33 percent more likely to develop or die from heart disease or stroke during an average follow-up of 9.3 years, the findings showed.

The report was presented Sunday at a European Society of Cardiology meeting in Munich, Germany. Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

“We spend one-third of our lives sleeping, yet we know little about the impact of this biological need on the cardiovascular system,” study author Dr. Epameinondas Fountas said in a society news release. Fountas works at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens, Greece.

“Our findings suggest that too much or too little sleep may be bad for the heart. More research is needed to clarify exactly why, but we do know that sleep influences biological processes like glucose metabolism, blood pressure, and inflammation — all of which have an impact on cardiovascular disease,” Fountas said.

“Having the odd short night or lie-in is unlikely to be detrimental to health, but evidence is accumulating that prolonged nightly sleep deprivation or excessive sleeping should be avoided,” Fountas said.

There are, he said, plenty of ways to establish good sleep habits. Among them: Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day; avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bed; eating a healthy diet; and being physically active.

“Getting the right amount of sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle,” Fountas concluded.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers a guide to a healthy heart.

Source: HealthDay

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