Galaxy of Kenshine

No one likes to walk into work after just a few fitful hours of sleep. But now there's evidence that not getting enough sleep may have more serious consequences than dark circles under your eyes the next morning. Researchers at the University of Chicago report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that too little sleep can promote calcium buildup in the heart arteries, leading to the plaques that can then break apart and cause heart attacks and strokes.

The University of Chicago team documented for the first time exactly how much of a risk shortened shut-eye can be — one hour less on average each night can increase coronary calcium by 16%. Among a group of 495 men and women aged 35 to 47, 27% of those getting less than five hours of sleep each night showed plaque in their heart vessels, while 11% of those sleeping the recommended five to seven hours did, and only 6% of subjects sleeping more than seven hours each night showed such atherosclerosis. "We were surprised by the findings," says Diane Lauderdale, a professor of health studies at the University of Chicago and lead author of the study. "We really were not expecting to find an association at all, and certainly not one that was this strong."

Exactly how a lack of sleep is feeding plaque in the heart arteries isn't yet clear, but one explanation may involve inflammation. Too little sleep can raise cortisol levels, which fuels inflammation that can destabilize plaques. Once these deposits rupture, they can block vessels in the heart or brain, causing a heart attack or stroke. While the Chicago team did not track levels of cortisol to test this theory, future studies might.

A simpler explanation might involve blood pressure. In general, blood pressure dips during sleep, and over a 24 hour period, people sleeping less will have shorter periods of lower blood pressure, thus increasing their tendency to dislodge any unstable plaques.

Whatever the reason might be, the results of this study make it clear that sleep isn't just for dreamers. Getting enough sleep might just save your heart.

And My kind request is, frnds whether u have lot of work also try to take rest for atleast sometime because we are only working to save our self . But the work itself killing us if we concentrate more on that.. so get going on ur work at the same time take care of ur health....

Take care.