Snoozing for less or more than 7 hours a day ups risk of heart diseases

Washington, August 2 (ANI): Sleeping for less than or more than seven hours a day could put your heart at an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.

The risk of irregular sleeping patterns was more than two times higher than that of people who reported daily sleep duration of seven hours.

And the risk is higher for adults under 60 years of age and women.

"Sleep disturbances may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease even among apparently healthy subjects," said principal investigator Dr. Anoop Shankar, Associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, W.V.

Sleep deprivation causes impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity, increased sympathetic activity and elevated blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of hardening of the arteries.

Long sleep duration may be related to an underlying sleep-related breathing disorder or poor sleep quality.

The study is published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep. (ANI)