A study in the July 1 issue of the journal SLEEP demonstrates that levels of inflammatory markers varied significantly with self-reported sleep duration in women but not men.

The study found that both interleukin-6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels varied with sleep duration in women following multiple adjustments for a number of confounding factors. Compared with women who reported sleeping seven hours on an average weekday, IL-6 levels were significantly lower in women who reported sleeping eight hours. Levels of hs-CRP were significantly higher in women who reported sleeping 5 hours or less. In contrast, adjusted results show no significant variations in inflammatory markers with sleep duration in men.

The study reports that hs-CRP, a nonspecific marker of acute-phase inflammatory response, is predictive of future cardiovascular morbidity, and the relationship of IL-6 to coronary heart disease is similar to that of CRP.

According to lead author Michelle A Miller, PhD, associate professor (reader) of biochemical medicine at the University of Warwick Medical School in the U.K., short-term sleep deprivation studies have shown that inflammatory markers are elevated in sleep-deprived individuals, suggesting that inflammatory mechanisms may play a role in the cardiovascular risk associated with sleep deprivation.

“Our study may provide some insight into a potential mechanism for the observation in previous studies which indicates an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease in individuals who have less than five hours sleep per night and increased risk of non-cardiovascular death in long sleepers,” said Miller.

Results indicate that participants of both sexes sleeping five hours or less had a poorer health status and lifestyle profile. This was particularly evident in males. Men sleeping five hours or less were more likely to be in the lowest employment grade, to be unmarried, to have a higher body mass index and waist circumference, to have lower mental and physical health scores, to smoke and have a higher diastolic blood pressure. Women were more likely to be unmarried, have lower physical health scores, to smoke and have higher systolic blood pressure. Men and women sleeping nine hours or more were also more likely to have decreased physical health scores.

The study involved more than 4,600 White participants from the University College London based Whitehall II cohort study; 73 percent were men. Participants between the ages of 35 and 55 years were recruited between 1985 and 1988 from 20 London-based civil service departments. Data for this study is from the phase 3 follow-up (1991-1993). Sleep duration was determined by subjective questionnaires, and general health was assessed during a screening examination.

According to the authors, these findings add to the growing body of evidence which suggests that there is a non-linear relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and duration of sleep. Furthermore, they support the idea that short sleep is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk and that the association between sleep duration and cardiovascular risk is markedly different in men and women. Further prospective studies are required to ascertain causality but the results also are consistent with the idea that sleeping seven or eight hours per night appears to be optimal for health.

The study: “Gender Differences in the Cross-Sectional Relationships Between Sleep Duration and Markers of Inflammation: Whitehall II Study”

Source:
Kelly Wagner

American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Sleep is one of the most elementary human needs. If you are not sleeping long enough, or sleeping badly, then you are putting your body at risk. And that’s really what you shouldn’t want to do in this day and age! So if you just read on you can get some invaluable advice regarding some ingenious methods to relieve yourself of your insomnia.

Here’s the first of my 3 herbal remedies for insomnia.

1) California poppy - The California poppy is a very popular herb that has been said to be incredibly helpful for the human sleeping rhythm. It has sedative properties but is absolutely not addictive or in any way dangerous. If you take this regularily, either in tincture form or for example as a tea, your sleep will improve in no time.

2) Chamomile - This is another herb with a strong scent that is easily sleep-inducing. As with California poppy, it also possesses sedative properties. This is what initially led me to my sleeping success, however some people simply don’t like the taste - but simply read on to learn about a better solution.

3) Passionflower - Passionflower is a muscle relaxant. If you find yourself unable to sleep mostly due to stress and anxiety, then you should try this option. It is best taken in as a warm tea in the evening.

However, before you go on and try these methods, you should know - it can be quite a hassle getting these herbs or buying them in a form that is easily taken in. If you’re an impatient or busy person, taking these herbs regularily can be quite time-consuming.

I wanted to help you answer the question on why do people snore and show you what you can do to stop it. This is a problem that has been growing over time. It seems like people have taken on the traits of their parents and are doing the snoring too. This used to be predominately a problem that men suffered from, but more and more women are suffering from it too. I think the main issue that leads to people not fixing this problem is that there isn’t much (if any) conventional wisdom on the problem. It is hard to solve a problem when you don’t know what to do. This is why I’m going to answer the question: why do people snore and try to show you how to fix it.

The first thing you need to understand is that people create this sound by the throat constricting while they sleep. If you think of this like physics, are will be forced to travel at a much faster rate through the throat. It is this faster rate of speed that inevitably leads to the sounds you hear. It is actually vibrating tissue and it is really hard to stop this when you’re asleep.

Now that I have answered why people snore, we can talk about solving it. Your muscles go loose when you sleep and this leads to your jaw becoming unsupported. By using a device known as a jaw supporter, you should be able to hold your jaw up, which puts pressure off the throat and allows it to remain expanded.

Learn more about the Anti-Snore Device