A new 10-year study done in China shows a link between poor sleep, heart disease, and strokes! The study sheds some light on the importance of sleep on your cardiovascular health. Let’s look at this new study that links insomnia with heart disease and stroke.
New Study Links Insomnia with Heart Disease and Stroke
Researchers from Peking University in Beijing China monitored 487,200 Chinese adults for a decade to examine the connection between insomnia and cardiovascular diseases. The study followed adults aged 30 to 79 who were free of stroke, coronary heart disease, and cancer at the start of the study. The participants were assessed with self-reported key signs of insomnia for at least three days per week for nearly a decade.
Three Key Signs of Insomnia
Throughout the study, the researchers defined three key signs of insomnia:
- Trouble falling and staying asleep
- Waking up early and not being able to go back to sleep
- Trouble staying focused during the day because of lack of sleep
Study Findings
Those who experienced all three of these three key signs of insomnia were 22% more likely to have coronary heart disease and 10% more likely to have a stroke than those who slept well. The researchers also analyzed the effect that these three key signs have individually.
ABC News reported on the findings, saying, “Their findings indicated that the risk of overall cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease or ischemic stroke was significantly higher in participants who had reported insomnia-like symptoms at the beginning of the study period. Overall risk was 9% greater in those who had difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, 7% greater in those with early morning awakening and 13% greater in those with daytime dysfunction.”
This new study links insomnia with heart disease and stroke, and enlightens us all on the importance of sleep.
Study Conclusions
The researchers concluded that all insomnia symptoms are associated with cardio-cerebral vascular diseases, including stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, and many more.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. So this new information can shed a lot of light on some of the reasons that some may be suffering.
How to Improve Sleep
If you’re suffering from insomnia, try out these techniques to improve the quality of your sleep.
- Get more sunshine throughout the day
- Reduce blue light exposure in the evening
- Don’t drink caffeine in the evening
- Keep a regular sleep pattern
- Take melatonin supplements
- Reduce stress throughout the day
- Unwind at the end of the day
- Take a relaxing bath or shower
- Exercise early in the day
- Have a comfortable bedroom environment