poor sleep Archives - Dr Amin Azhari - دکتر امین اظهری

Poor sleep can triple risk for heart disease

Individual aspects of poor sleep can be detrimental to heart health. But if you combine them, the risk of heart disease can increase by as much as 141 percent. That’s the finding of a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The University of South Florida-led study reviewed sleep data of 6,820 U.S. adults with an average age of 53 who self-reported their sleep characteristics and heart disease history. Among the participants, 633 also wore a research device (actigraphy) around their wrist that captured sleep activity.

Researchers focused on multiple aspects of sleep health, such as regularity, satisfaction, alertness during waking hours, timing of sleep, sleep efficiency and sleep duration and linked them to physician-diagnosed heart disease. They found that each additional increase in self-reported sleep health problems was associated with a 54 percent increased risk of heart disease. The estimated risk of heart disease associated with an increase in sleep health problems was much higher for those who provided sleep data by both self-report and the research device. They had a 141 percent increase – a figure that could be perceived to be more accurate.

Release date: 07 February 2022
Source: University of South Florida (USF Innovation)

Public Health

Poor sleep linked to feeling older and worse outlook on ageing, which can impact health

Poor sleep in the over 50s is linked to more negative perceptions of ageing, which in turn can impact physical, mental and cognitive health, new research has revealed.

A study led by the University of Exeter and found that people who rated their sleep the worst also felt older, and perceived their own physical and mental ageing more negatively.

Lead author Serena Sabatini, of the University of Exeter, said: “As we age, we all experience both positive and negative changes in many areas of our lives. However, some people perceive more negative changes than others. As we know that having a negative perception of ageing can be detrimental to future physical health, mental health, and cognitive health, an open question in ageing research is to understand what makes people more negative about ageing. Our research suggests that poor sleepers feel older, and have a more negative perception of their ageing. We need to study this further – one explanation could be that a more negative outlook influences both. However, it could be a sign that addressing sleep difficulties could promote a better perception of ageing, which could have other health benefits.”

Researchers surveyed 4,482 people aged 50 and over who are part of the PROTECT study. Run by the University of Exeter and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, PROTECT is an innovative online study in which participants take regular cognitive tests and complete lifestyle questionnaires. The study aims to understand what helps people stay cognitively healthy in later life.

As a result of such comments, the team decided to conduct a questionnaire looking specifically at sleep. In the research, published in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, participants were asked whether they had experienced a list of negative age-related changes, such as poorer memory, less energy, increased dependence on the help of others, decreased motivation, and having to limit their activities. They also rated their quality of sleep. The participants completed both questionnaires twice, one year apart.

Release date: 22 November 2021
Source: University of Exeter

Sleep and screen time link to myopia

New research from Flinders University indicates people with near-sightedness or myopia are more likely to experience poorer sleep quality than people with normal vision.

The study, led by optometrist Dr Ranjay Chakraborty from the Flinders Caring Futures Institute, indicates that people with short-sightedness have more delayed circadian rhythms and lower production of melatonin, a hormone secreted in the brain and responsible for regulating sleep at night, compared to people with normal vision.

People affected by myopia or short-sightedness are familiar with the frustration of only being able to clearly see objects up close, but not a far distance.

The findings, published in the journal Sleep, show that the participants with myopia take longer to fall asleep, sleep for shorter periods of time at night and are more likely to go to bed later or be ‘night owls’ compared to those with normal sight.

Release date: 27 May 2021
Source: Flinders University

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