Cardiologists explain that certain hormones are only released at night, and that sleep deprivation is linked to everyday damage that results in high blood pressure and heart rate, increased body weight, and insulin resistance.
If you thought that a good five to six-hour sleep is keeping you in fine fettle and that you do not need to sleep eight to nine hours because you are young and active, then you are highly mistaken. Similarly, a few long nights for a project presentation or a single late-night party are not an exception that you can allow yourself easily. That’s because even a short duration of sleep deprivation adversely affects the heart rate and blood pressure that doesn’t reverse easily, says a study.
Researchers at the Penn State University, US, followed 15 healthy men for 11 days, who had five nights of sleep deprivation. They found that even a short period of sleep deprivation, which was later compensated with two nights of adequate and peaceful slumber, was not sufficient to reduce the elevated blood pressure and heart rate caused by staying up. The findings were published in Psychosomatic Medicine. “Though the study is of a limited number of healthy men and of a shorter duration, its results show that even a short duration of sleep deprivation for five days is sufficient to adversely affect cardiovascular health,” says Prof (Dr) Rajesh Vijayvergiya, Department of Cardiology, Advanced Cardiac Center, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh.
Why then can’t we repair the harm brought on by a daily sleep deficit?
Explains Dr Virendar Sarwal, Director, Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, IVY Hospital, Mohali, “The logic is simple. This eight-hour sleep at night is required to heal the body from the inflammation it experienced during the day. It helps both heart and brain health and aids in recovering the wear and tear the body suffers during the 16 hours in a day. Lack of sleep leads to burnout and causes heart issues as we are witnessing these days.” Weekend rest, he adds, does not help because daily healing has not happened, and the heart keeps getting damaged till it succumbs finally. “The simple principle is to let it heal daily as residual inflammation results in changes in blood pressure, heart rate and loss of oxygenation to body tissues. Both are dangerous for heart and brain health,” he adds.
