Chronic Sleep Restriction Negatively Affects Cardiac Activity

Sleep Restrictions Chronic sleep restriction has a negative effect on a person’s cardiac activity, which may elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

The study, conducted by Siobhan Banks of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was based on preliminary analyses of 39 subjects, each of whom participated in a laboratory-controlled chronic sleep restriction protocol. The subjects underwent two nights of baseline sleep followed by five hours of sleep restriction. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in the heart rate variability after five nights of sleep restriction.

"A reduction in the heart rate variability has been reported in several cardiological and non-cardiological diseases," said Banks. "If our finding is sustained by a larger group and further analysis, it may suggest why short sleep duration is associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality."

The amount of sleep a person gets affects his or her physical health, emotional well-being, mental abilities, productivity and performance. Recent studies associate lack of sleep with serious health problems such as an increased risk of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Even small reduction in sleep over time put healthy person at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Sleep restriction leads to metabolic disturbance, increase in food consumption, and decreased leptin. Leptin is a hormone that is secreted from fat cells to regulate appetite and fat deposition.

Sleep restricted individuals have shorter attention span, impaired memory, and a longer reaction time. There are many reasons for sleep restriction.

Psychological factors such as stress, worry, anger, grief; medical conditions such as digestive problems, arthritis, pain, breathing problems; external factors such as sound, light, cold, heat, discomfort; lifestyle factors such as lack of bedtime routine, poor eating habits, no exercise, alcohol, caffeine and age factors can cause sleep restriction.

Chronic sleep restriction will be generally irritable and clumsy during the next day and the person becomes tired. Chronic sleep restriction can lead to decreased daytime alertness.

The long term problems with sleep restriction apart from cardiovascular disease are high blood pressure, stroke, mental impairment, increased mortality risk, and psychiatric problems.

During sleep, your blood pressure levels tend to be lower. If you have are sleep deprived, it puts an unhealthy pressure on the heart to work harder leading to heart problems.

Sleep deprived individuals often have increased levels of creactive proteins in the blood indicating a heightened state of inflammation in the body, which is a major risk factor for heart disease.

Therefore, 7 to 8 eight hours of sleep is necessary for the individual to have optimum performance. A good night sleep keeps you active and you can perform the functions very well.

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