Think skimping on sleep is harmless? Not so, say British researchers who recently found that people who don’t get enough sleep are more than twice as likely to die of heart disease as those who do. Researchers say that this heightened risk may be due to the fact that a lack of sleep is linked to high blood pressure, which raises the risk of heart attack and stroke. The researchers examined 10,000 people who cut their sleep from seven hours per night to five hours or less and found that their risk of death from all causes was 1.7 times higher, while their risk for cardiovascular death doubled. For more info and tips on how to catch up on your Z’s, check out “Good Night (and Good Luck!)” (Real Health, Spring 2007).
