According to research teams from the University of Warwick and University College London, having too much or too little sleep could lead to a greatly increased risk of fatal cardiovascular disease.
The team found that those who cut their sleeping down from the average of seven to just five hours every night faced a doubled risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, for those who increased it to eight hours, the risk was similar. Seven hours per night was championed as the healthiest time.
The research will be presented to the British Sleep Society, and took all kinds of factors into consideration.
One research professor involved in the study, Francesco Cappuccio, reportedly commented: "Fewer hours sleep and greater levels of sleep disturbance have become widespread in industrialised societies. This change, largely the result of sleep curtailment to create more time for leisure and shift-work, has meant that reports of fatigue, tiredness and excessive daytime sleepiness are more common than a few decades ago. Sleep represents the daily process of physiological restitution and recovery, and lack of sleep has far-reaching effects."
Poor sleep increases risk of heart problems and diabetes
Mon, 24 Sep 2007
