Sleeping Just Right

People who sleep more or fewer than seven hours a day are more likely to increase their risk of cardio vascular disease. Sleeping fewer than five hours a day doubles the risk of being diagnosed with coronary disease, heart attack or stroke, the study conducted by researchers at West Virginia University says. The most at-risk group is adults under 60 years. A separate study showed than an occasional long lie-in can be beneficial for those who can’t avoid short sleep. In that study , David Dinges found that 142 adults whose sleep was severally restricted for five days had a slower reaction time, and more trouble focusing. In the study about sleep and cardiovascular disease, researchers led by Anoop Shankar gathered and analyze data in a 2005 study on more than 30,000 adults. The authors of the study were unable to determine the casual relationship between how long a person sleeps and cardiovascular disease. They pointed out that sleep duration affects endocrine and metabolic factors, and sleep deprivation can lead to impaired glucose tolerance, reduce insulin sensitivity and elevate blood pressure.

Sleep is a naturally recurring altered state of consciousness with relatively suspended sensory and motor activity. Sleep is a heightened anabolic state, which accentuates the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular system. Cardiovascular disease involves the heart or blood vessels.

This is an important article because we are told that we need at least 7-8 hours of sleep a day. This article wants to tell us that we need 7 hours of sleep a day, no less and no more. The article does not prove that sleeping more or less can cause you to have a cardiovascular disease. We need to know what types on information we can take from article and not take everything that is said literally.

http://news.discovery.com/human/sleep-seven-hours.html