By Charlotte Webster-
Insomnia sufferers desperately must seek behavioural therapy to avoid the risk of strokes, experts have suggested. They are advised to exercise more, worry less, and abstain from coffee, tea or anything that has caffeine in it.
These are ordinary recommendations, but after a bunch of researchers connected insomnia to stroke and heart attack, those who suffer most from it must do whatever it takes to beat insomnia.
The researchers recently concluded that people who have trouble sleeping may be more likely to have a stroke, heart attack or other cerebrovascular or cardiovascular diseases, those suffering from insomnia need to take note and seek to counteract the defect of insomnia with some behavioural therapy including the exercise of restraint on bad habits.
A lot of people suffer from insomnia, but very few are aware of the connection between insomnia and heart attack. Research revealing the connection provides reason for plenty of thought
“These results suggest that if we can target people who are having trouble sleeping with behavioural therapies, it’s possible that we could reduce the number of cases of stroke, heart attack and other diseases later down the line,” said study author Liming Li.
The study involved 487,200 people in China with an average age of 51. Participants who had no history of stroke or heart disease at the beginning of the study were followed for 10 years to examine the extent to which future outcomes would be predictable and in line with theoretical constructs about the relationship between insomnia and strokes.
Participants were asked if they had any of three symptoms of insomnia at least three days per week: trouble falling asleep or staying asleep; waking up too early in the morning; or trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep. A total of 11 percent of the people had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; 10 percent reported waking up too early; and 2 percent had trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep. The researchers did not determine if the people met the full definition of insomnia.
Scientists who followed the individuals reported 130,032 cases of stroke, heart attack and other similar diseases.
Researchers concluded that those who displayed all three symptoms of insomnia were 18 percent more likely to develop these diseases than people who did not have any symptoms. The researchers took into account factors that could affect the risk of stroke or heart disease including alcohol use, smoking, and level of physical activity. The findings highlight the importance of more rest and less stress for those who suffer with insomnia.
People who had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep were 9 percent more likely to develop stroke or heart disease than people who did not have this trouble. Of the 55,127 people who had this symptom, 17,650, or 32 percent, had a stroke or heart disease, compared to 112,382, or 26 percent, of the 432,073 people who did not have this symptom of insomnia.
People who woke up too early in the morning and could not get back to sleep were 7 percent more likely to develop these diseases than those who did not have that problem. The researchers said that those who reported that they had trouble staying focused during the day due to poor sleep were 13 percent more likely to develop these diseases than people who did not have that symptom.
“The link between insomnia symptoms and these diseases was even stronger in younger adults and people who did not have high blood pressure at the start of the study, so future research should look especially at early detection and interventions aimed at these groups,” Li said.
Li noted that the study does not show cause and effect between the insomnia symptoms and stroke and heart disease. It only shows an association.