Maintaining regular sleep schedules can help prevent cardiovascular disease

Different investigations published in recent years have already linked lack of sleep with the development of various cardiovascular conditions, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

According to data from an important meta-analysis presented at the last congress of the American Heart Association and published in the scientific journal

insomnia and mean sleep duration of less than 5 hours are associated with significantly higher rates of myocardial infarction, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.

The American Heart Association included, in fact, last summer sleep in its list of eight essential issues (previously seven) to take care of cardiovascular health, among which were already diet, physical activity, not exposure to tobacco , blood pressure, and healthy body mass indices, blood fats, and blood sugar.

Sleep positively affects other factors, such as diet and physical exercise.

This has been demonstrated by another recent study presented at the beginning of March at the 2023 Scientific Conference of the American Heart Association.

According to it, people with better sleep quality show a greater ability to stick to their diet and exercise plans while trying to lose weight.

"In the end, it's a fish that bites its own tail," says Dr. María José Masdeu, pulmonologist and head of the Sleep Unit at Hospital Universitari Parc Taulí (Sabadell, Barcelona), who points out that poor-quality sleep ends up pushing people to have worse health habits.

“Sleeping poorly increases the risk of obesity, since the presence of leptin in our body decreases, which is the hormone that makes us feel full, while the presence of ghrelin increases, a hormone that increases the feeling of hunger and that leads us to the fridge to eat, as a general rule, things rich in fats and refined carbohydrates.

In other words, if you sleep little you will tend to eat worse and on top of that you will not feel like doing physical exercise ”, she adds.

Corroborated the relationship between poor rest and cardiovascular health problems, a recent study published in the

has gone a step further to try to better understand the pathways that connect lack of sleep with an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions.

The results of the same suggest that maintaining regular sleep schedules and sleeping approximately the same amount of time each night may play an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

“In our study we found that participants who slept a variable number of hours throughout the week (meaning less sleep one night, more sleep one night, etc.) and who did not follow regular sleep schedules had more probabilities of having atherosclerosis than the participants who slept approximately the same amount of time each night”, explains to EL PAÍS doctor Kelsie Full,

Atherosclerosis could be defined as the hardening of the arteries due to the accumulation of fat, calcium, cholesterol and other substances in their walls.

"It is the vascular disorder that is behind all the problems that we see later in the hospital, such as heart attacks, strokes, strokes, etc.", says Dr. Javier Mora Robles, cardiologist at the Regional University Hospital of Malaga and member of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), which does not hesitate to describe the research as "impressive": "It is a very well done study that, for the first time, demonstrates with imaging tests and a well-carried out sleep study, how irregularity in Sleep duration and sleep schedules are clearly related to the development of atherosclerosis.

Masdeu is of the same opinion, who highlights the fact that the study "clearly" shows that the more irregular the sleep is and the longer this irregularity is maintained, "the more damage appears in the vascular system and, therefore, the greater There is a probability of developing this type of disease.

This is how lack of sleep leads to the development of atherosclerosis

As Dr. Kelsie Full explains, all cardiovascular functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, and endothelial functions, are controlled by circadian clock genes.

Variation in sleep patterns—including when we go to sleep or the total amount of sleep—can throw off our circadian clock, and with it, all of these important cardiovascular functions, “making it harder for the heart to rest and wind down.” recover, which is an important function of sleep.”

"The study shows very well the biological way in which the damage is generated," says Dr. Masdeu.

It's a chain of events: poor sleep prevents the vascular system from doing its recovery job, which encourages increased buildup of deposits on the walls of the arteries.

"If we add bad habits, such as an unhealthy diet or lack of physical exercise, to these small accumulations of fat, calcium, and cholesterol derived from poor sleep, the plaques will grow larger and end up clogging the artery," exemplifies the director of the Spanish Sleep Society (SES).

"This study shows that sleep is an essential element of health at all levels and that it is something that we must promote from the consultations, because with good sleep hygiene we can prevent the appearance of cardiovascular problems", reflects Javier Mora. Oak trees.

In this sense, for Masdeu there are two essential pieces of advice that anyone can follow.

On the one hand, derived from the research itself, having regular sleep: "You have to always try to sleep the same hours and at a fairly similar time every night, paying special attention to the weekend to try to avoid what we call

social (the considerable delay in going to bed and waking up during holidays)”.

On the other, promoting physical exercise, preferably in the morning and with exposure to sunlight, to synchronize our circadian rhythm with the environmental rhythm.

“With these two tips we will already take an important step to improve our sleep and protect our cardiovascular health”, he concludes.

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