According to a new study, a grown-up person who gets too little or too much sleep can have the chance to acquire early signs of cardiovascular disease. Poor sleeping habits may cause hardening of the arteries that can then lead to heart disease.
The lead author of the study named Dr. Chan-Won Kim stated that calcium deposits in the major arteries can also be experienced by a person who doesn't get a quality sleep.
"Coronary calcium develops way before heart attack symptoms occur, and a greater amount of calcium in the coronary arteries predicts future development of heart disease," said Dr. Kim who is also a clinical associate professor in the Center for Cohort Studies at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital located in Seoul, South Korea.
In the said study, 47,000 adults, men and women were ask to answer sleep questionnaires. The subject adults, who were at their 42s in average, have also undergone tests to know if there are plaque and calcium found in their major arteries, leading to their hearts.
The completed questionnaires suggest that the accomplices had a 6.4 hours average sleeping time every night. 84 percent of the adults claimed that they get a good night sleep. The examiners then categorized those who sleep five hours or less "as short" sleepers while the 9 hours and more were considered as the "long" sleepers.
The results showed that those who are short sleepers have 50 percent more calcium in their arteries compared to the seven-hour sleepers. Long-sleepers on the other hand, have 70 percent more calcium than the seven-hour sleepers.
Meyerson and Dr. Mark Urman, which are cardiologists stated that during sleep, the body is undergoing different changes and it affects different body parameters like blood pressure, blood sugar and more. He also stated that quality sleep should be a primary part of a person's healthy lifestyle.