If you sleep less than 8 hours a night, you are at risk of developing this disease

As you already know, not getting enough sleep leads to many psychological health problems. Learning difficulties, chronic fatigue, increased stress, anxiety, irritability, you name it. Rest assured, it's not going to kill you and it's never too late to get a good night's sleep.

Sleep and blood pressure

The fact remains that the body is also affected by lack of sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, your blood pressure rises due to an overproduction of hormones, you also produce bad cholesterol which can eventually lead to diabetes.

And there's another concern: at the respiratory level this time. Once again, do not fear, there are multiple solutions to sleep better (medication, therapy, meditation and other comforts that can relax you before diving into the arms of Morpheus).

The genetic risk of developing asthma

According to a new study by UK Biobank published in the journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research, getting enough sleep may actually reduce the genetic risk of developing asthma.

Read more ⋙ Here is why you should never sleep with your socks on

This rather common lung condition causes breathing problems due to airway inflammation. Fortunately, Ventolin exists, however some asthma attacks can be more serious than others...

Indeed, the Biobank researchers sought to understand why so many people suffering from asthma also had difficulty sleeping and were particularly prone to insomnia. According to their hypothesis, better sleep could therefore relieve asthma.

Read more:

⋙ This is when you should be worried about talking in your sleep

⋙ Wearing clothes to bed could be affecting how you sleep, here's what you should do instead

Better sleep for better breathing

Well, as you already know, a good night's sleep is between seven and nine hours. But the best thing is also to get quality sleep! No insomnia, no snoring, and get in a few hours before midnight. The researchers evaluated more than 450,000 adults aged 38 to 73 over a nine-year period.

According to their findings, they explain that:

Considering that poor sleep combined with high genetic susceptibility yielded a greater than twofold asthma risk, sleep patterns could be recommended as an effective lifestyle intervention to prevent future asthma, especially for individuals with high-risk genetics.

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

Sources used:

BMJ Open Respiratory Research: 'Highlighting the importance of healthy sleep patterns in the risk of adult asthma under the combined effects of genetic susceptibility'