It’s not that we underestimate the power of sleep, but there are so many other things to do. Not necessarily productive things, but delaying your sleep by an hour is so easy when you want to scroll or binge. However, not having a fixed sleep time can have an annoying effect on your body.
Research
Adults with irregular sleep patterns are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as people who go to bed at the same time every night, research shows. Metro writes that researchers spent five years studying the sleep patterns of 1992 men and women between the ages of 45 and 84.
The participants wore a device on their wrist while they slept and while they were awake. They did this for seven consecutive days and completed a questionnaire about their sleep patterns. Over the course of five years, 111 participants developed cardiovascular problems. Think of a heart attack or stroke. Some even died from cardiovascular problems.
Heart and vascular disease
The study found that those who had irregular sleep patterns had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those who went to bed at regular times and got up at regular times. The researchers believe that irregular sleep patterns can lead to disruptions in the body’s circadian rhythms. This in turn leads to problems with the metabolism, which increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and elevated cholesterol. Lead researcher Tianyi Huang hopes the research will raise awareness of good sleep patterns.
Source: Things for Women | Image: Adobe Stock