A new study found that reducing the duration of sleep for two consecutive nights leads to a less healthy vascular function and impaired breathing control.

The researchers worked with eight healthy adult volunteers aged 20-35 and for the first two nights of the study participants slept for eight hours a night but from there on, instead of restricting sleep completely, they gave them only four hours sleep for the next three consecutive nights.

After the first two nights of restricted sleep, the researchers found a significant reduction in vascular function compared with those following a normal night’s sleep. However, after the third night of sleep restriction vascular function returned to baseline, possibly because of an adaptive response to acute sleep loss.

The results may suggest a mechanism behind the relationship between sleep deprivation and cardiovascular disease. If acute sleep loss occurs repeatedly over a long period of time, then vascular health may be further compromised and finally mediate the development of cardiovascular disease.

SOLACI.ORG