People who sleep less than six hours a night may be at an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases compared to those who sleep for seven to eight hours, according to a study.
The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that poor quality sleep increases the risk of atherosclerosis—plaque buildup in the arteries throughout the body.
“Cardiovascular disease is a major global problem, and we are preventing and treating it using several approaches, including pharmaceuticals, physical activity and diet,” said Jose M Ordovas from the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) in Spain.
“But this study emphasises we have to include sleep as one of the weapons we use to fight heart disease—a factor we are compromising every day,” said Ordovas, who is also associated with Tufts University in the US.
