Sleep tight

Nursing, Apr 2003

HEART DISEASE

New research from the Nurses' Health Study involving almost 72,000 female nurses ages 45 to 65 suggests that 8 hours of sleep per night does a heart good. Nurses who averaged significantly less-five or fewer hours per night-were 45% more likely to have a coronary event than those who slept about 8 hours. But more than 8 hours isn't necessarily better for the heart-nurses who averaged 9 or more hours per night had a 38%

greater risk of experiencing a coronar event, compared with those sleeping about 8 hours per night. Researchers can't say why too little or too much sleep seems hard on the heart.

Source: "A Prospective Study of Sleep Duration and Coronary Heart Disease in Women," Archives of Internal Medicine, N Ayas, et al., January 27, 2003.