Question: I have been sleeping very poorly for almost a year, very few hours. Due to the terrible economic situation I am going to have to close my business. I've already had two arrhythmias and the cardiologist wants me to see a psychiatrist. (Román J. Vargas, from Santa Rosa)
The heart beats at an average of 70 beats per minute, 100,000 times per day, 35 million per year and a little more than 2.5 billion in the life of a person of about 80 years of age on average.
Currently, sleeping poorly at night
is a very common symptom
and it is estimated that in a period of one year approximately 30-40% of adults suffer from it.
Sleeping well involves 7 to 9 hours of good night's sleep.
That is,
not only the number of hours matters but also the quality of sleep,
which is considered satisfactory if it meets the following:
1) Fall asleep within 30 minutes of going to bed.
2) Sleep throughout the night.
Sleeping well involves 7 to 9 hours of sleep at night.
Photo Shutterstock.
3) Resume sleep within 20 minutes if there is any awakening.
4) Wake up with energy and with the feeling of having rested.
What are the risks of sleeping poorly?
Poor sleep quality is a serious risk factor that affects health in general and cardiac function in particular.
Many experts give it the same ranking in this sense as leading a sedentary life
, maintaining a poor diet or smoking.
Cardiac activity depends on the Neurovegetative Nervous System, which combines greater sympathetic activity (designed for stress, flight or attack) during the day with a parasympathetic predominance during the night.
The greater proportion of parasympathetic activity compared to sympathetic activity during
sleep is a protective factor for cardiac function
and a product of interactions between the heart-brain and the dynamic processes of the autonomic nervous system.
When this relationship decreases or is reversed and causes greater nocturnal sympathetic activity - in insomnia - such a situation becomes dangerous and
is related to a greater frequency and risk of arrhythmias
or heart attacks that usually occur at that time.
The correct equation (nighttime predominance of the parasympathetic over the sympathetic) when sleeping well allows blood pressure and heart rate to drop
and thus the cardiovascular system rests and recovers.
If there are frequent awakenings, blood pressure will remain elevated.
Photo Shutterstock.
The decrease in heart rate during sleep is not the same for all people, neither throughout life nor in different phases of sleep.
La mayoría de los expertos coinciden en que la frecuencia cardíaca debe descender alrededor de un 8% respecto a la frecuencia durante la vigilia.
Si no se duerme lo suficiente o existen frecuentes despertares, la presión arterial y la frecuencia cardíaca permanecerán elevadas.
A su vez, también se puede generar un círculo vicioso si la persona ya sufre de insuficiencia cardíaca debido a que esta puede afectar el sueño por la dificultad para respirar, por tos nocturna persistente o la necesidad frecuente de orinar, todos factores que interrumpen el sueño e impide que sea reparador.
El aumento nocturno de la presión arterial y la frecuencia cardíaca desencadena cambios hormonales: elevación del nivel de cortisol (hormona del estrés), disminución de la sensibilidad a la insulina (aumento de la glucemia),
aumento de las hormonas inductoras del hambre (mayor aumento de peso), todos factores de riesgo para una mejor salud del corazón.
También repercute disminuyendo la efectividad del sistema inmunitario.
En conclusión, dormir bien por la noche es una efectiva manera de cuidar al corazón.
E.M.
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