A new research report published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology has revealed that increased work stress, when combined with impaired sleep, could elevate the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The research report claimed that the risk of death due to cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke will be threefold higher among people who face work pressure and impaired sleep when compared to others who lead a normal life.
"Sleep should be a time for recreation, unwinding, and restoring energy levels. If you have stress at work, sleep helps you recover. Unfortunately, poor sleep and job stress often go hand in hand, and when combined with hypertension the effect is even more toxic," said Professor Karl-Heinz Ladwig, a top researcher at the German Research Centre for Environmental Health and the Medical Faculty, Technical University of Munich and the lead author of the study in a recent statement.
It should be noted that this is the first study that examined the combined effects of work stress and impaired sleep on death due to cardiovascular diseases among workers who suffer from hypertension.
During the study, researchers analyzed the lifestyle of 1,959 hypertensive workers aged 25-65. When compared with people who have no stress and impaired sleep, people with both risk factors had a three times greater likelihood of death from cardiovascular diseases due to heart attacks and stroke.
"Maintaining sleep is the most common problem in people with stressful jobs. They wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning to go to the toilet and come back to bed ruminating about how to deal with work issues. These are insidious problems. The risk is not having one tough day and no sleep. It is suffering from a stressful job and poor sleep over many years, which fade energy resources and may lead to an early grave," added Ladwig.
A few days back, another study report published in the European Heart Journal had revealed that long-term use of antibiotics will increase the risk of heart attack and stroke among older women. The research report also revealed that the prolonged usage of antibiotics will not create any impact on the cardiovascular health of younger adults.
