Sleeping for less than six hours increases the risk of angina pectoris in women

A recent American study showed that women who do not get more than 6 hours of sleep a night can increase their risk of angina pectoris.

This study was conducted on 700 participants of both sexes, all over the age of sixty years and with stable heart disease.

The website "Al Arabiya. Net” that the study lasted for 5 years, in which the participants were asked to record the nature of their sleep and the hours of sleep, in addition to that, the necessary blood analyzes were conducted to find out the substances related to infections that occur in the body.

The researchers found that the substances caused by inflammation rose in women who slept poorly and did not sleep more than 6 hours, and the rate of the rise of these substances in women was 2.5 times higher than in men.

What is striking is that the effect of poor sleep on women was stronger than its effect on men, even after taking into account other factors such as lifestyle, place of residence and other personal factors.

The researchers explained that the risk increases in women due to the lack of female hormones, the most important of which is estrogen after menopause, as estrogen is a protective factor against heart disease, and the male hormone “testosterone” can have an effect in mitigating the negative effects of lack of sleep.

The researchers comment on the results, saying that, despite the knowledge of the relationship of inflammatory processes to lack of sleep, as well as their effects on heart disease and arteriosclerosis, the effect of lack of sleep on them was higher than their expectations.

Several previous studies have shown that lack of sleep can affect the body in several ways, as a British study published months ago showed that lack of sleep for less than 6 hours for a week, causes disruption in the functions of about 700 substances, including those responsible for the immune system, metabolism, sleep-wake cycle and rose. The body's reaction to stress and tension, which increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, stress and depression in those who sleep poorly.

It is noteworthy that the inflammatory process increases its effectiveness when smoking, high arterial tension and poor diet, and it begins as a defensive method to rid the body of the effects of the mentioned factors, but ends with the production of substances that worsen the condition of the arteries feeding the heart, and increase the deposition of substances that lead to narrowing and hardening of these arteries.