A good night's sleep, a healthy heart

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Extract from the article: Sleep quality is directly associated with heart health. Poor sleep is associated with a significant increase in the risk of heart failure. Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet all the body's energy needs. The sym

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Sleep quality is directly associated with heart health. Poor sleep is associated with a significant increase in the risk of heart failure. Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet all the body's energy needs. The symptoms are characteristic: shortness of breath on exertion or at rest, fatigue. If left untreated, the heart becomes increasingly tired, fluids can accumulate in the lungs and organs are damaged: heart failure can have extremely serious consequences. A series of risk factors have been identified, includinghigh blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, excess of unhealthy fats and, in this case, poor sleep.

An American team from Tulane University has shown that, compared with very disturbed nights, excellent quality sleep is associated with a 42% reduced risk of developing heart failure, whatever the other risk factors. The risk is reduced by 8% in people who wake up early, by 12% in those who sleep between 7 and 8 hours a day, by 17% in the absence of signs ofinsomnia, and by 34% when there is no daytime sleepiness. In fact, in the event of sleep problems, it is essential to discuss them with a doctor in order to consider ways of dealing with them: these difficulties may reflect or give rise to real health problems.

Jean ELI