It’s not easy but try to hit the sweet spot of 7-8 hours.

Two new studies have shows that too little or too much or “fragmented” sleep all lead to increased atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid and femoral arteries. Studied were almost 4000 men and women with mean age of 46 years. Results were corrected for other risk factors such as obesity, hypertension or smoking. Very short sleepers, defined as less than 6 hours did the worst and this group used more alcohol and caffeine.

Other studies have shown that taking benzodiazepines at bedtime to improve sleep in an older patient group may increase risk of dementia.

So, what’s an insomniac to do?

See Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Vol 73, 2019.

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