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Good night's sleep 'protects heart'

By Helen Briggs BBC News

Seven or more hours' sleep a night boosts the benefits to the heart of a

healthy lifestyle, research suggests.

According to a large study, traditional advice on exercise, diet, drinking and

smoking reduced deaths from heart disease or stroke, but even more lives were

saved by also having enough sleep.

Advice on getting enough sleep could have a substantial impact on public

health, say European researchers.

In theory, many heart and stroke deaths could be prevented or postponed.

A team in the Netherlands tracked heart disease and strokes in more than 14,000

men and women for more than a decade.

By the end of the study, about 600 individuals had suffered heart disease or

stroke, and 129 died.

The study found that deaths were less likely in people who followed all four

positive lifestyle recommendations - taking exercise, eating a healthy diet,

drinking alcohol in moderation, and not smoking.

Start Quote

This research shows that combining a good night's sleep with other healthy

lifestyle choices can reduce your risk of heart disease

Doireann Maddock British Heart Foundation

Five things that stop a good night s sleep

Observing all four behaviours was associated with a 57% lower risk of

cardiovascular disease and a 67% lower risk of dying from stroke or heart

disease, they say.

But when sufficient sleep - seven or more hours a night - was added to the

other four lifestyle factors, the beneficial effect was amplified - resulting

in a 65% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and an 83% lower risk of death

from cardiovascular disease.

The researchers say other studies have shown a link between poor sleep and

cardiovascular disease, but this is the first to look at whether sleep - added

to the other four healthy lifestyle recommendations - can further reduce risk.

"If all participants adhered to all five healthy lifestyle factors, 36% of

composite cardiovascular disease [heart disease or stroke] and 57% of fatal

cardiovascular disease could theoretically be prevented or postponed," say the

researchers, from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment,

Bilthoven, and Wageningen University.

"The public health impact of sufficient sleep duration, in addition to the

traditional healthy lifestyle factors, could be substantial."

Commenting on the work, published in the European Journal of Preventive

Cardiology, Prof Grethe S Tell, of the University of Bergen, Norway, said the

benefits of sleep should be considered by public health experts and parents

alike.

"The main message of the study is that we need to consider sleep as an

important factor for health," she told BBC News.

"From a public health point of view we should encourage people to get enough

sleep and like all other healthy lifestyle factors this needs to be taught at

home."

Sleepless nights

Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said

people suffering sleepless nights should not be alarmed.

"This research shows that combining a good night's sleep with other healthy

lifestyle choices can reduce your risk of heart disease," she said.

"But troubled sleepers should not be alarmed - this study doesn't mean

sleepless nights cause heart disease."

She added that further research was needed to fully understand the link between

sleeping habits and the heart.

"If you find it difficult to drift off, avoiding caffeine and heavy meals too

close to the end of the day may help.

"But if lack of sleep is becoming a problem, make sure you have a chat to your

doctor."