Previously, studies have linked prolonged sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep patterns to increased risks of developing or dying from strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular disorders.  Completing a large-scale study involving 474,684 subjects from eight countries including Japan, USA, Sweden and UK who were followed for up to 25 years, Francesco Cappuccio, from the University of Warwick (United Kingdom), and colleagues found that sleeping less than six hours per night and have disturbed sleep puts a person at 48% greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease, and a 15% greater chance of developing or dying of a stroke. The team warns that: “Both short and long duration of sleep are predictors, or markers, of cardiovascular outcomes.”

Francesco P. Cappuccio, Daniel Cooper,  Lanfranco D'Elia,  Pasquale Strazzullo,  Michelle A. Miller.  “Sleep duration predicts cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.”  Eur Heart J., February 7, 2011.