How does lack of sleep affect you? - NL-003

An increasing number of studies are indicating that a lack of sleep can be detrimental to one's cardiovascular health. A paper in the European Heart Journal ‘Digital Health’ determined that the time of going to bed is just as important as the amount of sleep when it comes to maintaining good health.

 

Lack of sleep may have an impact on your future self in terms of decision-making, learning capacity, and emotions, and raise the possibility of a mishap or injury. The amount of sleep an adult of 18 and up requires is 7 to 9 hours per day. In 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one third of adults did not get enough sleep.

The causes of not attaining sufficient rest can differ. According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, there are roughly 90 diverse sleep disorders. Most of these have symptoms of drowsiness during the day, trouble falling or staying asleep, or unusual feelings or movements in the course of sleep. Good sleep is viewed as a fundamental requirement for optimal health and is acknowledged as such by the majority of health professionals.

The correlation between bedtime and general health is related to the body's 24-hour internal clock. It was not possible to establish causation in the CDC study, yet the data did indicate that going to bed at  different times is likely disturb one's circadian rhythm and have a negative effect on cardiovascular health.

Previous studies have identified an association between sleep duration and cardiovascular illness. Despite this, there has been limited exploration into the connection between bedtime and heart disease.

In a recent study, data from approximately 90,000 individuals was assessed. The mean age of the participants was 61 years and the majority of them (58%) were female. During the approximately 6-year study, the researchers monitored the reported sleep times of the individuals - prior to 10 p.m., between 10 p.m. and 10:59 p.m., 11 p.m. to 12 p.m. or after midnight.

The data was examined with age and gender taken into account and revealed that the lowest cardiovascular disease rate was among those who went to bed between 10 p.m. and 10:59 p.m. It was determined that those who went to sleep at midnight or later had a 25 percent higher risk of heart disease in comparison to the earlier group. Interestingly, the 24 percent risk was comparable for those who slept before 10 p.m. Additionally, those who consistently went to bed between 11 p.m. and midnight had a 12 percent increased risk for heart disease. Further analysis of the data indicated that the risk was more pronounced in women than in men.

A press release was commented on by one of the scientists involved in the study, who suggested that the ideal time for sleep is at a certain point in the body's 24-hour pattern and that any divergence can have a negative effect on one's health. It was additionally stated that the most precarious time to sleep was after midnight, likely because it reduces the opportunity to be exposed to morning light, which synchronizes the body's internal clock.

The data gathered does not indicate a cause-effect relationship, but sleep timing has been revealed as a possible heart-risk indicator – separate from any other risk elements and sleep features. If these discoveries are corroborated in other studies, the timing of sleep and fundamental sleep hygiene could be an economical public health goal for minimizing the danger of heart disease.

The wide-ranging effects of sleep deprivation can lead to a surge in heart disease, as suggested by a systematic review published in the Journal of the American Heart Association that included 74 studies with over 3 million participants. The research found that people who did not get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep had a higher risk of death and other cardiovascular issues than those who got the recommended amount. Additionally, it is believed that getting even more sleep than the recommended amount may be related with more serious outcomes than getting too little sleep. It is already known that inadequate sleep is linked with high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

Sleep deprivation may be correlated to other major health issues, for example:

• There is a greater chance of becoming obese and developing Type 2 diabetes.
• Age-related neurological issues can be widespread, from depression to dementia. With ageing, the blood-brain barrier weakens, permitting more toxins to pass through. This, along with a decrease in sleep-related efficiency of the glymphatic system, can lead to more rapid damage in the brain, which is considered a major factor in the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
• Research has demonstrated that deep sleep is associated with a immune function. This is because the quality of rest helps the body to remember past encountered pathogens, allowing the immune system to quickly and effectively tackle the antigen when it is encountered again.
• It is believed that tumours in lab animals that experience severe sleep issues grow two to three times faster. This is attributed to a disruption in the production of melatonin, a hormone that has both antioxidant and anticancer properties. Melatonin not only stops the development of cancer cells, but also instigates their self-destruction. Additionally, it interferes with angiogenesis, which is the creation of new blood vessels that tumours need for rapid growth.
• Women who slept five hours or fewer each night were found to be at greater risk for developing osteoporosis, as evidenced by their lower bone mineral density measurements.
• A heightened risk of suffering from pain and associated conditions can be caused by a lack of sleep. Studies have revealed that when healthy adults are deprived of sleep, their sensitivity to pain and the amount of pain they can tolerate increases. Furthermore, chronic sleep deprivation and fatigue are both strong indications of the beginning of chronic widespread pain.
• Sleep deprivation has been linked to a heightened risk for stomach ulcers due to the upsurge in proinflammatory cytokines. This can lead to a number of gastrointestinal conditions, including GERD, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer.
• Sleep deprivation has been linked to changes in hormone levels that can lead to issues with sexual performance in both genders.
• Results from one study indicated that there were marked discrepancies between the SCINEXA skin ageing scoring system and the individual's appraisal of their own skin's condition, suggesting premature ageing.
• Higher chances of dying from any cause: an analysis showed that individuals with chronic insomnia are three times more likely to have a fatal outcome than those who don't have trouble sleeping.
• Emotional control issues: sleep and emotion have a two-way relationship. Good sleep is necessary for dealing with emotional tensions, and stress can cause sleep problems. Sleeping well helps the brain to recover and maintains the connections between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, which are involved in managing emotions.
• Mental health conditions can be linked to a greater risk of chronic sleep difficulties, with up to 80% of individuals suffering from anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or ADHD affects.
• Memory decline and hampered capacity for learning: during sleep, memory is fixed. Too little or too much sleep can disrupt this process and alter other mental processes.
• Efficiency, output and originality decreased.
• Reaction time is slower: not getting a minimum of six hours of sleep will impair your cognitive abilities and boost your chances of getting into accidents.
• Studies have shown that the higher the variety of gut bacteria, the more likely it is that a cytokine, which impacts sleep quality, is present.

The quality of sleep is just as vital for cardiovascular health as the time you go to sleep and the duration of sleep. Fragmented sleep is connected to atherosclerosis, which is a buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries, causing them to become "clogged" or "hardened." This can lead to fatal heart illnesses.

UC Berkeley sleep specialists have reported the findings of their research, which suggest a connection between poor, broken sleep and a pathway of persistent inflammation in the body. This phenomenon has been linked to increased plaque buildup in the arteries, possibly extending to other conditions such as depression and Alzheimer's.