Sleep irregularity has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases based on a study of more than 6000 patients. Until now most of what we had known about sleep patterns in adults was from self-reported surveys which are unreliable or single-night sleep studies which cannot be extrapolated to habitual sleep patterns.
Using a commercial wearable device (Fitbit) researchers followed the sleep patterns of a large group of patients. This study coincides with the recognition by the American Heart Association that sleep is a key component of heart health. The median age of the population studied was 50.2 years with 71% women and mostly identified as white. The median time of sleep monitoring was 4.5 years.
This study reinforces the importance of adequate and high-quality sleep. The sleep duration needed is typically 7 hours per night. The study concludes that poor sleep habits, irregular sleep patterns and sleep apnea are associated with an increase in the presence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, major depression, and generalized anxiety.
To be sure, there are several limitations to these findings including the fact that commercial wearable devices are not perfect compared with research grade devices but do collect clinically relevant data. Another aspect to consider and cannot be defined by this study is whether the abnormal sleep patterns are the cause or the effect of the chronic diseases to which they are associated.
The bottom line is that adequate sleep is an important issue for all of us.
