The piercing sound of the alarm clock jars me out of bed each morning, and I immediately reach out from under the covers to hit the snooze button so I can catch just a few more moments of much-needed sleep.
The back to school season usually means that parents have to forgo an extra hour or so of sleep to get the children ready for school. While I preach the “early to bed, early to rise lifestyle to my children, does Mommy really know best?
Generations have praised the wisdom of getting up early in the morning, but a Japanese study says early risers are actually at a higher risk of developing heart problems.
The study, conducted by researchers from several universities and hospitals in the western Japanese city of Kyoto, revealed a link between wake-up times and a person s cardiovascular condition.
Rising early to go to work or exercise might not be beneficial to health, but rather a risk for vascular diseases, said an abstract of the study.
The study, covering 3,017 healthy adults aged between 23 and 90, found that early risers had a greater risk of heart conditions including hypertension and a higher chance of having strokes.
However, the study also noted that early risers were usually older.
The study is being presented this week at the World Congress of the World Federation of Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine Societies, being held in Cairns, Australia.
A separate study released in June by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that chronic sleep deprivation adds stress to the heart, putting a person at greater risk of cardiovascular disease and death.
So while professionals worldwide are debating the results of the study, take the initiative and hit that snooze button and treat yourself to a few more minutes of sleep. With AFP
