After a day full of activities, of course, we need some rest. Sleep is one of the ways we usually do to rest our body and brain. Besides being able to restore the body's energy, quality sleep can also affect overall body health, especially in maintaining heart health.

Based on recommendations made by the National Sleep Foundation, adults need at least 7-9 hours of sleep per day. Lack of sleep is bad for your health, and can also increase the risk of heart disease. According to the results of a recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the researchers found that those who sleep for less than 6 hours per day have a 20% higher risk of heart attack than those who sleep for 6-9 hours per day. Meanwhile, those who sleep for more than 9 hours have a 34% higher risk.

The study results also show that sleeping for 6-9 hours per day can help reduce the risk of heart attack by up to 18% for those who have a high potential for genetic heart disease. The researchers further concluded that the right sleep duration is one way to maintain heart health. Sleep duration can be a single factor that decides a person's risk of heart attack, regardless of other factors, including genetics.

These results were obtained after analysing data on 461,347 participants with an age range of 40-69 years registered with Biobank UK. The data includes each participant's report about their sleep habits and health history for seven years.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Google Search Images

Source:

• Daghlas, I., Dashti, H.S., Lane, J., et al (2019). Sleep Duration and Myocardial Infarction. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2019.07.022.
• Medical News Today - Heart attack risk is higher in those who sleep too little or too much (2019). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326236.php, 25 September 2019.