content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Beauty sleep for the heart
Getting too little sleep and having trouble sleeping have been linked with cardiovascular disease in a handful of studies. What's the connection? Lack of sleep seems to promote low-level inflammation throughout the body. And it's just this kind of inflammation, experts now believe, that is a key step along the road to cholesterol-clogged arteries and heart attacks.
A team led by Harvard researchers looked at the effect of both sleeplessness and interrupted sleep on C-reactive protein (CRP), an important sign of inflammation. In one experiment, they kept 10 healthy volunteers awake for 88 hours straight. In another, they let some volunteers sleep for eight hours a night during a 10-day period and allowed others only four hours of sleep a night. CRP levels increased dramatically in both groups of sleep-deprived folks.
Snoring, especially the serious kind known as obstructive sleep apnea, could be a link between sleeplessness and inflammation. Snoring certainly disrupts sleep. Several studies have shown that people with obstructive sleep apnea tend to have intense inflammation in their airways and throughout their bodies. Others indicate that combating sleep apnea by wearing a mask that delivers slightly pressurized oxygen to the nose and mouth while sleeping eases this inflammation. It also tends to lower blood pressure (see "Nighttime breathing machine may lower blood pressure" in the April 2003 Heart Letter).
Sleeping peacefully for eight hours a night won't necessarily guarantee you freedom from heart trouble. But it's a relaxing way to improve your odds.
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| Last updated: | August 21, 2006 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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