People who get less than seven hours of sleep each night are said to be four times more likely to suffer a stroke than those who regularly get a good night’s sleep, according to the research done by the World Health Organisation.
It means that a sleep disorder could be as bad as triggering a heart attack as smoking or failing to exercise. Professor Valery Gaforov, who presented the findings at the Euro Heart Care Congress, Croatia in June 2015 said: “Poor sleep should be considered a modifiable disease along with smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet. For most people, good quality of sleep is seven to eight hours each night and people not sleeping well should speak to their doctor”. Other experts pointed out, however, that the underlying causes of heart attack and strokes, such as lack of exercise and poor diet, could be contributing to sleep disorders. Sleep disorders are often associated with anxiety, depression, hostility and vital exhaustion and are a manifestation of social stress.
These findings highlight once again how important it is that we look after ourselves and take measures to reduce our stress levels, eat a well-balanced diet and take regular exercise. Sounds easy enough so why do we struggle at times……………………well that’s another blog for another day!