Study: Interrupted sleep exposes women to early death

A recent study found that interrupted sleep can increase the risk of death from heart disease, especially for women.

The British newspaper, The Times, reported that researchers examined sleep data for more than 8,000 men and women.

Participants, aged between 64 and 83, were followed for a period of six to 11 years.

The researchers found that women who experienced disrupted sleep frequently had an almost double risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to the risk that the rest of the female population in the general population would be exposed to these diseases.

The association was less pronounced in men, and their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease increased by just over a quarter compared to the general male population.

One of the common triggers for waking up during sleep is obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that many people suffer from in which breathing stops for several seconds and prompts a person to wake up, said Dominic Linz, assistant professor at the University of Maastricht University in the Netherlands who led the study To change his sleeping position, and reopen his upper airway.

Linz added, "There are also other common reasons for waking up at night, most notably the noise pollution that a person may be exposed to during the night, such as the noise of night airplanes, as well as a person feeling nervous or anxious about something."

He continued, "People usually feel exhausted and tired in the morning due to the disruption of their sleep, which may over time affect them with heart disease."

The study was published today (Tuesday) in the European Heart Journal.