Optimal Health Medical Blog

The Blog of Dr. Henry Sobo

Sleeping Six To Eight Hours Per Night is Best For Health

Sleeping Six To Eight Hours Per Night is Best For Health

Researchers have found the sweet spot of six to eight hours sleep a night as being most beneficial for heart health. More or less is detrimental. Their findings were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2018.

The study elucidated the relationship between the duration of one’s sleep and cardiovascular disease risk using a meta-analysis, combining 11 studies and a total of over 1 million adults to reach their conclusions.

The research directly compared those that had less than six hours of sleep per night with those that had greater than eight hours of sleep.

Statistics developed from the over 1 million subjects revealed that both those who had too little- less than six hours, and those who go too much sleep- more than eight hours, had a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to adults who slept six to eight hours a night.

Dr Fountas said: “Our findings suggest that too much or too little sleep may be bad for the heart. More research is needed to clarify exactly why, but we do know that sleep influences biological processes like glucose metabolism, blood pressure, and inflammation — all of which have an impact on cardiovascular disease.” He concluded that, ” evidence is accumulating that prolonged nightly sleep deprivation or excessive sleeping should be avoided. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to get into the habit of getting six to eight hours a night — for example by going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, avoiding alcohol and caffeine before bed, eating healthily, and being physically active. Getting the right amount of sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.”