Rising early may be bad for health

10 September, 2007

Rising before 5 a.m. might be bad for your health.

A study conducted in Japan has found that early risers have a higher risk of medical conditions that can lead to heart attack and stroke.

People who habitually rose before 5 a.m. had 1.7 times greater risk of high blood pressure and were twice as likely to develop hardening of the arteries
as those who got up 2 to 3 hours later, researchers found.

The study, which examined 3,017 healthy adults aged 23 to 90, also found a possible link between vascular disease and early risers who began the day with vigorous exercise.

Mayuko Kadono, a physician at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan, who led the study, said: “The results are contrary to the commonly
held belief that early birds are in better health. We need to find what the causes of this are, and whether exercising after waking early is beneficial.”

The study noted that early risers were usually older people.

A separate study released in June 2007 by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the United States, had found that chronic sleep deprivation adds stress to the heart, putting a person at greater risk of cardiovascular disease and death.

Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attack, stroke and hypertension, is the biggest cause of death globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO estimates that 20 million people may die from cardiovascular disease every year by 2015, compared with about 17.5 million a decade earlier.

Mayuko Kadono presented the results of his study at the Fifth Congress of the World Federation of Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine Societies, in Cairns, Australia, held from September 2 to 6, 2007.

The study was self-sponsored by analyzing data from general screening tests with patient consent.

According to Dr V Mohan Kumar, vice-president of the World Federation of Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine Societies, an adult needs a minimum of
6-8 hours of sleep every day. He explains: “People who go to sleep at 10 p.m. and wake up at 5 a.m. or later should face no problems. Some people
have a natural tendency to wake up early while others wake up late. If those who like to sleep a little more are forced to wake up at 5 a.m. everyday, it naturally leads to stress in the heart causing complications.”