MORE SLEEP IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEART

But Insomnia can lead to serious health problems. Researchers from the University of Montréal, its affiliated Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal Sleep Disorders Center and the University Laval published findings of a study in the journal Sleep. Their study found that people who suffer from insomnia have heightened nighttime blood pressure, which can lead to cardiac problems. The investigation, which measured the 24-hour blood pressure of insomniacs compared to sound sleepers, ScienceDaily magazine reported on Sep. 6, 2009

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090904165238.htm

Another study by Alexandros N. Vgontzas, MD, director of the Sleep Research and Treatment Center at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa., demonstrates that chronic insomnia with objectively measured short sleep time is an independent and clinically significant risk factor for hypertension.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090401101733.htm

http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=27894

MORE SLEEP IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEART

A study published December 2008 in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Christopher King and colleagues from the University of Chicago has found a relationship between sleep quantity (hours spent asleep) and calcium build up -- or calcification -- in the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood.

For each additional hour of sleep, the risk of calcification of the coronary arteries decreased by 33 percent -- an outcome equal to reducing blood pressure by 16 point elevations.

Moreover, the sleep relationship did not change even when the researchers controlled for certain traditional risk factors for heart disease, such as cholesterol, weight and diabetes.

The results were part of the ongoing Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA), which is being carried out at four cities nationally.

This report focused on nearly 500 patients at the Chicago CARDIA site.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Sleep/sleeping-good-heart/story?id=6525530

Sleep on it!