Lack of sleep ups heart attack risk--study
According to the study published in the 'European Heart Journal,' sleeping less than six hours in the night boosts the stroke or heart attack risk.

"The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health so you need to act now to reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions," stated study author Professor Cappuccio from the University of Warwick.

Sleep deprived people tend to eat more which is likely to make them obese and increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, leading to heart attack or stroke.

470000 people followed
The researchers at the University of Warwick Medical School in the UK reached this conclusion after analyzing sleeping habits of 470000 people from eight countries, between 7 to 25 years.

The participants were from countries including the United States, the UK, Japan, Sweden, and Germany.

The researchers found that people who slept late had a very high risk of dying from heart attack or stroke.

"If you sleep less than six hours per night and have disturbed sleep you stand a 48% greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15% greater chance of developing or dying of a stroke," stated Prof. Cappuccio.

Why lack of enough sleep ups heart risk?
The reason behind this is that a when a person is sleep deprived, the level of leptin in our blood decreases. As a result, a person does not feel as satisfied after eating.

On the other hand, the levels of ghrelin, which is responsible for increasing appetite, rises. Thus, a person feels more hungry than before.

As a consequence, sleep deprived people tend to eat more which is likely to make them obese and increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, leading to heart attack or stroke.

7 hours sleep recommended
The researchers stated that "whole work/life balance struggle" is leading many people to sacrifice their sleeping hours to ensure that they complete all the jobs. But this causes the "ticking time bomb" of heart disease.

Considering the long term serious health problems, they recommend sufficient sleep. Seven to eight hours of shut-eye guards against health problems and cuts the risk of developing chronic illnesses.

But, sleeping too much also has several health implications. For instance, sleeping more than nine hours also increases risk of cardiovascular diseases.