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The danger of sleeplessness

Insomnia or sleep trouble may put people at increased risk of heart attack.

The danger of sleeplessness

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Modern lifestyle has taken a toll on the health of people working and earning a living in the city. The hectic and high pressure life makes many suffer from insomnia.

Insomnia or sleep trouble, the most common lifestyle problem, affects the well being of the entire body and mind. It often makes you cranky the next day and affects your performance at work. Apart from it, new studies state that suffering from insomnia may put people at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Women with symptoms of insomnia may have a higher risk of cardiovascular problems than men.

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According to the author of the study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Qiao He from China Medical University in Shenyang, "Sleep is important for biological recovery and takes around a third of our lifetime…Researchers have found associations between insomnia and poor health outcomes. But the links between insomnia and heart disease or stroke have been inconsistent".

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The symptoms of insomnia are difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early-morning awakening, and non-restorative sleep.

"We found that difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, or non-restorative sleep were associated with 27 per cent, 11 per cent, and 18 per cent higher risks of cardiovascular and stroke events, respectively," He said, adding that the underlying mechanisms for these links are not completely understood.

(With inputs from agencies)

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