Not getting enough sleep? Research shows sleeping less than 5 hours doubles risk of clogged leg arteries

Stress, workload or sometimes, even parties affect our sleeping patterns and schedule. And, we often forget that getting enough sleep is essential for maintaining optimal health and overall well-being. Sleeplessness doesn't just give us nasty-looking eye bags and dark circles but also increases our risk of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), according to research published in the European Heart Journal – Open, an ESC journal. It says that sleeping less than five hours each night is linked to a 74 per cent increased risk of clogged leg arteries.

"Our study suggests that sleeping for seven to eight hours a night is a good habit for lowering the risk of PAD," claims study author Dr Shuai Yuan of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

The study also states that over 200 million people globally have peripheral artery disease (PAD),which causes arteries in the legs to clog, restricting blood flow and increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Dr Yuan added, "Insufficient night-time sleep and daytime napping have previously been associated with a raised risk of coronary artery disease which, like PAD, is caused by clogged arteries. In addition, sleeping problems are among the top-ranked complaints in PAD patients. There are limited data on the impact of sleep habits on PAD and vice versa, and our study aimed to fill that gap."

The studywas conducted in two parts and assessed more than 650,000 participants. In the first part, the researchers analysed the associations of sleep duration and daytime napping with the risk of PAD. In the second part, the researchers used genetic data to perform naturally randomised controlled trials to examine the causality of the associations. The trials werecalled Mendelian randomisation.

Dr Yuan noted, "Observational analyses are limited by reverse causality – meaning that if an association between sleep habits and PAD is found, we cannot be certain if sleep habits caused PAD or having PAD caused the sleep habits. Mendelian randomisation is a robust method for evaluating causality and provides more certainty about the results."

In an observational analysis of over fifty thousandadults, sleeping less than five hours a night was associated with an increased risk of PAD, as compared to seven to eight hours. The findings werefurther supported by analysing 156,582 and 452,028 individuals.

Dr Yuan said, "The results indicate that brief night-time sleep can raise the chance of developing PAD and that having PAD increases the risk of getting insufficient sleep."

Meanwhile, sleeping eight hours or more each night was linked to a 24 per cent higher risk of PAD, as compared to seven to eight hours.However, no causal relationships were found between long sleep and PAD.

Daytime nappers, however, had a 32 per cent higher risk of PAD, as compared to those who did not nap during the day.

"More studies are needed on the relationships between lengthy night-time sleep, daytime napping and PAD," said Dr Yuan.

To conclude, he stated, "Although we found associations in the observational studies, we could not confirm causality. More research is needed on how to interrupt the bidirectional link between short sleep and PAD. Lifestyle changes that help people get more sleep, such as being physically active, may lower the risk of developing PAD. For patients with PAD, optimising pain management could enable them to have a good night’s sleep."

(With inputs from agencies)

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