PARIS (Dispatches) -- Researchers report that poor sleep is associated with a higher likelihood of heart disease and stroke.
The study carried on by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, Paris, included 7,200 participants of the Paris Prospective Study III (PPP3), an observational community-based prospective cohort. Men and women aged 50 to 75 years and free of cardiovascular disease were recruited in a preventive medical centre between 2008 and 2011.
They estimated the proportion of cardiovascular events that could be prevented with healthier sleep. They found that if all participants had an optimal sleep score, 72% of new cases of coronary heart disease and stroke might be avoided each year.
The study showed the potential for sleeping well to preserve heart health and suggested that improving sleep is linked with lower risks of coronary heart disease and stroke.
The researchers estimated that seven in ten of these cardiovascular conditions could be prevented if everyone was a good sleeper.