Irregular sleep schedules can negatively affect your heart, suggests a study.
A study brought to light by the National Institute for Health or NIH shows how not having a proper sleep schedule in place could cost you tremendously.
Proper sleep is, according to several previously published studies, crucial for good health. It keeps the immune system strong, protects you against cardiovascular illness, prevents hypertension, and keeps body weight in check.
A disruption in sleep can, therefore, contribute to several illnesses, and according to this recently published study, the heart is likely to suffer the most from erratic sleep schedules.
The research that involved 2000 adults from various ethnic backgrounds and between the ages of 45 and 84 years old found that erratic sleep schedules can have frightening effects on the heart. Out of these 2000 participants, none at the beginning of the study had any heart issues. However, after five years, it was found that participants who had erratic sleep patterns were more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Apart from that, they also showed symptoms of depression, increased calorie intake, and obesity resulting from it, and a higher index of obtrusive sleep apnea.
Save your heart the trouble, and immediately come up with a healthy sleep schedule that gives you a good nine hours of sleep. More importantly, stick to the schedule.
One of the ways of sticking to a sleep schedule is going to bed at the same time. There are two things one can do to ensure this. First, limit the use of electronic devices at least an hour before bed. The blue light emitted by these devices fool the brain into thinking that it is still daytime. As a result, our brain does its best to make sure we remain active and do not go to sleep. It does so by preventing the release of melatonin, a hormone secreted by a part of the hypothalamus, and which is responsible for helping us feel drowsy and sleepy at the end of each day. The other thing that can help with maintaining a sleep schedule is eating sleep-inducing foods before bed. Some of these include nuts like almonds and walnuts, fatty fish, chamomile tea and passionflower tea, and bananas.
If even after trying all of this, getting good sleep seems like a struggle, you need to inspect the quality of the bed you are using. A memory foam mattress with the right contouring abilities, orthopedic support, motion isolation, and temperature control, is something you need to invest in immediately. You can have a look at such a sleep solution right here.
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