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According to a recent Swedish study, a lack of sleep associated with intense sports practice could have a negative impact on the heart. The results are published in the scientific journal Molecular Metabolism.
In this pilot study, conducted on a small scale on only sixteen healthy volunteers of normal weight, the researchers first sought to screen in depth their potential previous cardiovascular diseases, as well as the “heredity” factor that could present the volunteers.
Disturbed sleep + intense stress: beware!
Then the participants first followed a normal sleep pattern, with 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. They then underwent a period of intense exercise in the morning. Then another session in the morning too, but three nights after seeing their sleep cut short by half, each night. Blood samples were taken from them every day, morning and evening.
Result: When the participants exercised intensely after a shortened sleep, the levels of troponin, a biomarker of heart damage present in the blood, increased slightly more. Levels increased by 40% after three nights of partial sleep restriction, compared to those who exercised in a well-rested state.
Beware of the harmful effects of poor sleep
The study is a small pilot study and it is not yet possible to determine whether the results may be relevant to cardiovascular health. However, researchers know that disturbed and shortened sleep increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction or high blood pressure. As explained by Dr. Jonathan Cedernaes, physician and associate professor of medical cell biology at Uppsala University, Sweden, who led the study: “Exercise is great for the heart, while lack of sleep can have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system. But it’s unclear whether shortened sleep can modulate the physiological stress that intense exercise appears to have on heart cells.”.
Results to be validated
“Today, there is no evidence to suggest that exercising regularly when you have had too little sleep is harmful to your heart. We can rather reverse the argument: by making sure to get enough sleep, we can further increase the positive impact of physical exercise. adds Dr. Cedernaes. And concludes by the fact that his work should be carried out on a greater number of different people, such as women, high-level athletes or even soldiers.