Not getting enough sleep can have a variety of health effects, but new research has found that high-intensity training can combat some of these negative effects.
Both adequate sleep and adequate exercise have been found to help prevent more than 80% of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks, arrhythmias and coronary artery disease. However, developing sustainable habits in both these areas can be difficult for many people. You can also ask for sleep, but it’s more complicated to determine.
The good news is that maintaining these exercise routines while working towards better sleep still has positive benefits.
According to one of the study’s co-authors, Dr. Jihui ChangThis may be due to exercise’s effects on inflammation, metabolism, and the sympathetic nervous system, all of which are closely linked to the heart, said the director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Medicine, Brain Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, China. increase. health.
“So if you have to choose rest, you have to sacrifice some of it for exercise,” he said.
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To understand the role exercise plays in combating the side effects of sleep deprivation, researchers used data collected from over 92,000 adults in the UK between 2013 and 2015. Age ranged from 40 to he was 73 and 56% were female. For a week, they wore wristbands that measured how much they exercised and how much they slept.
They divided their nightly sleep into three categories: short (6 hours or less), normal (6 to 8 hours), and long (8 hours or more). Based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, we divided the amount of physical activity a person got into low, medium, and high. The research team also tracked exercise intensity and whether it was considered “moderate to vigorous” based on WHO guidelines.
In this study, using mortality records, approximately 3,000 participants died, approximately 1,100 from cardiovascular disease, and approximately 1,900 from cancer, a median of approximately 7 years after data were collected. determined to be dead.
People who slept too much, not enough, or didn’t exercise enough (less than the recommended 150 minutes a week) were more likely to die from all causes, including cancer and heart disease.
For those who didn’t get enough sleep, exercise at least the minimum recommended amount appeared to compensate for the lack of sleep. , did not increase the risk of death.
This was not the case for those who did moderate amounts of exercise.In these people, not getting enough sleep increased the chance of all-cause mortality by about 40%.
Although the new research is observational and cannot confirm that exercise can mitigate some of the effects of sleep deprivation, Dr. Zhang and team believe it can help combat inflammation, metabolic dysregulation, and sympathetic nervous system activity. Emphasizes athletic ability.
Previous studies have shown that muscle contraction during exercise releases exerkine. This is a molecule that reduces inflammation associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
Cardiovascular inflammation can affect blood flow to tissues around the heart and organs. These include arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), heart failure (meaning the heart is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood to meet the body’s needs), and narrowing of the arteries. , can lead to serious health problems.
Exercise works against inflammation. It also regulates cholesterol, excess fat, and high blood sugar that contribute to heart disease. It also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, affecting heart rate and the ability of the heart to pump at the correct force.
Although the new study does not specifically investigate whether excessive exercise may have health effects related to heart disease, cancer, and overall mortality, previous studies have It has been suggested that excessive exercise and adequate rest may increase harmful inflammation.
A 2019 study found that a good amount of exercise reduces inflammation, but too much exercise can cause immune cells to release inflammatory mediators when muscles become active. I understand. as bacteria and viruses. This study found that intense and prolonged exercise can increase levels of inflammatory mediators and thus lead to chronic inflammation.
according to Dr. Bo-Huang HuangAn epidemiologist and biostatistician at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, who has studied the relationship between fitness and sleep. It depends on many factors, including whether you have an illness or disability. The same applies to sleep.
It also noted that the findings may not apply to younger people, who generally need more sleep than older people. Dr. Tamanna Singh, M.D.co-director of the Sports Cardiology Center at the Cleveland Clinic.
“All this data is still new, so I think there’s a lot more to it than we already know,” she explained.
Studies like this that compare two aspects of health, both important, should inspire people to become more conscious about their habits.
“If you haven’t been physically active yet, now is a good time to add intentional movement to your list of things that are important to you,” suggests Dr. Singh, noting that a variety of factors, including work, can affect some people. Others have acknowledged that this may make this easier.
Huang stressed that the importance of sleep cannot be overlooked. In 2022, the American Heart Association (AHA) will add sleep to his list of eight important lifestyle factors for heart health, and adults should aim for her seven to nine hours a night. pointed out that it should
If restful sedentary behaviors other than sleep, such as sitting on the couch and watching TV, were replaced by exercise, the results would almost certainly be better for people’s health, Dr. Huang reiterated. . However, not getting enough sleep and expecting exercise to erase the effects is not good for your health in the long run.
“When it comes to overall cardiovascular health, neither is more important than the other,” agreed Dr. Singh. “It’s all about balance.”
