Jakarta –
A recent study shows that lack of sleep, even for only a few days, can trigger an increase in inflammatory protein levels in the blood-which is closely related to the risk of heart disease.
In the study, a healthy young man experienced a surge in protein levels related to heart failure and coronary artery disease only after three nights of sleep for four hours.
“Many major studies have been carried out regarding the relationship between lack of sleep and the risk of cardiovascular disease generally focus on individuals who are slightly older who already have an increased risk of the disease,” said Study Leader Dr. Jonathan Cedernaes, a lecturer at Uppsala University in Sweden, was quoted by detikHealth from Science Direct.
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This study involved 16 healthy young men with regular sleep patterns. They were asked to take part in two sleep sessions in the laboratory that strictly regulates their food intake and physical activity. In the first session, they slept normally for three consecutive nights. In another session, they only sleep for about four hours every night for three days.
During the two sessions, the participant’s blood was taken twice a day and in the afternoon and and was followed by intense exercise activities for 30 minutes. From the analysis of about 90 types of protein in the blood, researchers found that lack of sleep triggered an increase in protein that played a role in inflammation. These proteins are known to be related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
“With this research, we have increased our understanding of the role of the amount of sleep we get in cardiovascular health. It is important to note that research also shows that physical exercise can compensate at least some negative effects that can be caused by lack of sleep,” he explained.
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