Lack of sleep worse for women

Women who get less than the recommended eight hours sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns, new research has indicated.

The British study found that levels of markers related to coronary heart disease and cardiovascular morbidity were significantly lower in women who reported sleeping eight hours as compared with those who sleep seven or less hours.

Our study may provide some insight into why previous studies have indicated an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease in individuals who have less than five hours sleep per night, the authors of the study said.

The research by the University of Warwick and University College London involved more than 4,600 participants. Sleep duration was determined by subjective questionnaires, and general health was assessed during a screening examination. 

“These findings add to the growing body of evidence which suggests that there is a non-linear relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and duration of sleep. Furthermore, they support the idea that short sleep is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk and that the association between sleep duration and cardiovascular risk factors is markedly different in men and women,” said Prof Michelle Miller, lead author of the study.  

The authors concluded that further studies are required but stressed that the results were consistent with the idea that sleeping seven or eight hours per night appears to be optimal for health.

The study was published in the journal SLEEP.

[Posted: Wed 01/07/2009]