Inadequate sleep isn’t merely a nuisance; it quietly raises your risk for serious heart problems. A new study from Uppsala University, published in the journal Biomarker Research, uncovers how even a few nights of poor sleep can quickly change your body’s chemistry, increasing markers associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Jonathan Cedernaes, a physician and researcher at Uppsala University who led the study, explains, “Unfortunately, nearly half of all Swedes regularly experience disturbed sleep, particularly among shift workers. We aimed to understand how sleep deprivation raises heart disease risk and how we might prevent this.”
Sleep Deprivation’s Hidden Threat
Sleep loss is increasingly common worldwide, closely linked to conditions like heart attacks, strokes, and irregular heartbeats. Recognizing sleep’s crucial role, the American Heart Association recently added healthy sleep duration to its guidelines for maintaining heart health.
To reveal the hidden impacts of sleep loss, researchers closely studied 16 healthy young men in a controlled lab setting. Participants completed two separate three-night sessions, either receiving ample sleep (about 8.5 hours per night) or significantly less sleep (only 4.25 hours each night). Throughout the experiment, scientists monitored blood protein levels, taking samples each morning, evening, and around intense exercise sessions.
Biomarkers Reveal Increased Heart Risk
By examining blood samples using advanced proteomics—a method to detect numerous proteins at once—researchers discovered alarming changes linked directly to sleep duration. After sleep restriction, many proteins known to promote inflammation sharply increased.
These inflammatory proteins, such as interleukins and chemokines, have previously been connected to higher risks of heart failure, coronary artery disease, and irregular heart rhythms.
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Notably, even young, healthy individuals displayed these troubling signs after only brief sleep loss. “Typically, research linking sleep and heart disease targets older adults already facing risks,” notes Cedernaes. “Seeing these harmful proteins rise quickly in younger, healthy people highlights just how critical sleep is to heart health early in life.”
Time of Day Matters, Too
The study also showed how time of day significantly influenced the levels of several heart-related proteins. Sleep restriction intensified daily fluctuations. For instance, the protein leptin, known for regulating hunger and metabolism, along with lipoprotein lipase, essential for fat breakdown, demonstrated notable evening increases after short sleep.
These findings suggest sleep not only affects your overall heart risk but also how your body manages critical metabolic processes throughout the day. Sleep-deprived individuals could face disruptions that further raise cardiovascular risks by altering daily rhythms of important proteins.
Can Exercise Balance Out Poor Sleep?
Regular physical exercise is often recommended to improve heart health and reduce risks linked to poor sleep. But can it fully counteract the harmful effects of sleep deprivation?
To test this, participants performed intense cycling sessions following nights of normal or limited sleep. The results were mixed. Under normal sleep conditions, exercise significantly boosted levels of beneficial proteins—known as exerkines, like IL-6 and BDNF—that enhance cardiovascular health.
However, after restricted sleep, exercise-induced increases in these heart-healthy proteins were notably weaker. Despite this, some beneficial effects still appeared, underscoring that exercise helps even if it cannot fully eliminate the negative impacts of inadequate sleep.
“Our results clarify the interplay between sleep and exercise,” says Cedernaes. “Exercise does mitigate some harmful effects, but it can’t replace essential functions sleep provides.” Previous studies have even suggested exercising while sleep-deprived might place extra stress on heart muscles.
Implications for Public Health
Given the increasing prevalence of sleep disruption due to modern lifestyles, these findings are critical. They emphasize that even a short-term sleep deficit can significantly change your heart’s risk profile, regardless of your age or fitness level. The study suggests that heart health guidelines must more strongly emphasize the importance of sufficient sleep.
Further studies are essential to explore how these effects differ among women, older adults, or those with existing cardiovascular conditions. Moreover, future research should consider how sleep patterns interact with dietary choices and personal biological clocks (chronotypes).
“Our ongoing studies aim to refine recommendations for combining sleep, exercise, and diet to effectively prevent heart diseases,” says Cedernaes.
The study sends a clear, crucial message: prioritize sleep, no matter how busy life becomes. Even a few sleepless nights carry hidden risks, but the right habits can help keep your heart healthy.
Note: The article above provided above by The Brighter Side of News.
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