Is Your Heart Getting Enough Sleep?

A new study by the National Center for Cardiovascular Research says that your heart needs at least six hours of sound sleep each night to stay healthy. People who don’t get enough sleep increase their risk for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease (regardless of age, weight, smoking and exercise habits). Not enough sleep can cause atherosclerosis — the hardening and narrowing of arteries — which is the usual cause of heart attacks and strokes.

The study involved nearly 4,000 adults whose average age was 46 and who had no heart disease when the study began. People who slept fewer than six hours a night were 27 percent more likely to have body-wide atherosclerosis than those who slept seven to eight hours. But too much sleep was shown to be problematic as well. Women in the study who slept more than eight hours a night also had an increased risk of atherosclerosis. The study also found that participants with "poor-quality" sleep, meaning they awoke often during the night or had trouble falling asleep, were 34 percent more likely to have atherosclerosis.

From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),

Paul J. Staso

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Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:

• United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
• Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
• Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
• Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
• The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
• Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
• Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
• Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
• Some Cycling Moments From The Past