Poor Sleep, Bad for the Heart

Sleep is important for everyone, but the quality of sleep for women might be even more important, researchers suggest.

There is more evidence now that women who have sleep problems are at a higher risk for heart problems than those who do not have sleep difficulties.

There is more to worry about with bad sleep than just heart problems though. In women who have reported a poor quality in sleep, they had higher instances of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health concerns. Difficulty falling asleep causes higher level of insulin which leads to the higher risk of developing diabetes. This was evident in women who have had difficulty falling asleep or maintaining a full night’s sleep for two or more nights a week. Other side effects from not getting quality sleep were anger, hostility, and depression.

Previous studies on this topic included women with major sleep issues, such as sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. This current study was conducted using healthy men  and women that did not have any previous history of sleep disorders. This study concluded that it’s not all about the quality of sleep—the major factor in linking risks to disease with sleep is in the difficulty a woman has falling asleep. Those who take a half hour or more to fall asleep each night were at greater risk for developing heart disease.

The study concluded that men do not show this link between a higher risk of heart disease and difficulty sleeping. Because of the difference in the function of brain chemicals between genders, men do not suffer as much from having difficulty falling asleep.