Poor Sleep, Poor Heartbeat
For the people that have trouble getting the required seven to eight hours of sleep every day, especially those 7 out of 10 USF students that feel they cannot get enough sleep, it can be hurting you more than you think. According to Medical News Today, a web-based outlet for medical news, people that have poor sleep, even for those that don’t have sleep apnea, is linked to higher risks of developing an irregular heartbeat, strokes and heart failure. Also, getting less rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep may also be linked to higher risks of atrial fibrillation.
According to the American Heart Association, atrial fibrillation (AF) involves disruptions in sleep that raise the risks of an irregular heartbeat.
Obstructive sleep apnea, known as sleep that is interrupted by pauses in breathing, is a known risk for atrial fibrillation which can lead to strokes and other heart-related complications. The relationship between disrupted sleep and atrial fibrillation even when there's no sleep apnea is still unclear.
According to MNT, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco examined three sources of data to isolate and confirm the effects of poor sleep on atrial fibrillation. Their analyses of these studies resulted that:
Disrupted sleep, including insomnia, may be associated (individually) with atrial fibrillation.
People who reported waking up frequently at night had about a 26% higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation compared to those who didn't wake up a lot.
People who were diagnosed with insomnia had a 29% higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation compared to those without insomnia.
"The idea that these studies gave us consistent results was exciting," said lead study author Matt Christensen, a medical student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, according to MNT. Past research has shown a link between poor sleep among people who already had AF. With this study, it focused on people whose pre-existing sleep disruptions were associated with developing AF later in their lifespan.
According to MNT, the data sources included the Health eHeart Study, an internet-based cross-sectional study of more than 4,600 people; the Cardiovascular Health Study, an 11-year longitudinal study of just over 5,700 people, of which almost 1,600 people (28%) developed atrial fibrillation; and the California Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, a hospital-based database spanning five years and covering almost 14 million patients.
In all three studies, researchers adjusted for the effects of obstructive sleep apnea and AF risk factors that may also be related to sleep. The factors were age, sex, race, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure and smoking.
Poor sleep is also known to be the cause of other heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, coronary heart disease and stroke, according to Harvard Medical School. It is important to be getting enough physical activity, avoid drinking too much caffeine, and have a consistent evening routine for a successful sound slumber. If you have poor sleep, it is recommended to talk to your doctor or primary care physician.
