Stress Management And New Sleep Habits Can Prevent Strokes- Study

A new study conducted by Swedish and British researchers sought to find a link between lack of sleep and strokes, coronary artery disease or heart failure and they came up with an interesting find. Sleeping problems otherwise called insomnia is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or inadequate sleep.

While previous studies had already established an association between insomnia and cardiovascular problems, the researchers could not determine whether insomnia was a cause of heart disease or the two were just correlated.

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However, this new study, published in the academic journal, Circulation, has found that people who struggle to sleep may have a greater chance of developing coronary artery disease and heart failure.

According to independent.co.uk,  the researchers looked at genetic variants connected with insomnia and tracked whether they were linked with a higher risk of heart disease in a sample of over 1.3 million participants.

They determined that genetic predisposition to insomnia was associated with significantly higher odds of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and ischemic stroke – but not atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat.

The researchers did, however, acknowledge that the study had the shortcoming of looking at genetic liability to insomnia – not how much respondents were able to sleep.

As a result, they were unable to conclude that genetic variants linked to insomnia cause a greater risk of heart disease, but not that insomnia is itself a cause.

The study’s lead author, Dr Susanna Larsson, said,

“It’s important to identify the underlying reason for insomnia and treat it.

Sleep is a behaviour that can be changed by new habits and stress management.”