Sleep: bad habits increase the risk of atherosclerosis

Another reason to sleep well: poor sleep habits are linked to an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis, which is the fatty deposits in the arteries of the body, responsible for cardiovascular pathologies.

Are sleep and the health of the arteries connected?

For this study, the scientists recruited 2,000 participants, aged between 45 and 84, with an average age of 69. The researchers wanted to be representative of the diversity of the populations (38% of people of Caucasian origin; 28% of Black or African American people; 23% of Hispanic Americans and 11% of Americans of Chinese origin ).

All the volunteers were monitored between 2010 and 2013 and had to wear a device on their wrist to detect their bedtime and wake-up times. They also completed a “sleep diary” for 7 consecutive days and had their sleep more accurately analyzed for one night to measure any breathing-related disturbances, sleep stages, awakenings and heart rate during their rest.

In parallel with these data, the experts also analyzed the fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries in the volunteers according to their sleep habits, by measuring the following elements:

• The formation of calcified fatty plaque in the coronary arteries (of the heart);
• The formation of fatty plaques in the carotid arteries (neck);
• The thickness of the two internal layers of the arteries of the neck;
• The narrowed peripheral arteries in the ankles.

Poor sleep promotes atherosclerosis

Thanks to the sleep diary, the researchers pointed out the most significant sleep irregularities observed in the volunteers: a quantity of sleep that varies by more than two hours and a variation in falling asleep by an hour and a half, in one week.

Results: People with poor sleep habits have a higher risk of developing atherosclerosis. For example, participants whose sleep duration varied by more than 2 hours within a week were:

• 1.4 times more likely to have high coronary artery calcium scores;
• 1.12 times more likely to have plaque buildup in neck arteries;
• 2 times more likely to have abnormal results from the arteries in their ankles compared to those with more consistent sleep durations;
• Participants with a more irregular sleep pattern of more than 90 minutes in a week were 1.43 times more likely to have an elevated coronary artery calcium score compared to people who had a discrepancy of 30 minutes or less in one week.

Tips to improve your sleep

Sleep can be hard to come by for many people. Here are some tips to improve it:

• Sleep at least 7 hours a night, waking up at the same time each morning and going to bed at the same time each evening;
• Remove luminous objects or the television from the bedroom;
• Sleep in a dark room;
• Put your phone on silent;
• Set the temperature of your room to 18°C ​​no more;
• Relax before going to bed, turning off the screens and favoring reading or meditation;
• Avoid eating before bed and limit liquids and avoid caffeinated products;
• Do not take a nap at the end of the day;
• When you wake up at night and can’t go back to sleep, don’t use your phone, but instead get up and relax until you’re ready to go back to sleep.