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For most people with metabolic syndrome, sleeping less than six hours a night is linked to an increase in death risk. Recently, the American Heart Association said that people who get less than six hours of sleep may be more likely to have risk factors that ups the odds of heart attack, getting fat, and developing a metabolic disorder.

What Should Short Sleepers Do?

Now, the short sleeper should be aware of the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. It is a combination of risk factors, such as high blood pressure and an excess amount of fat in the blood, CBS News reported.

According to the specialists in the field, lack of sleep brings feelings of depression, anger, and anxiety to the surface. It can change hormones secretion like growth hormone and cortisol. A new study published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment demonstrated that lack of sleeping has a negative impact on a person's cognitive performance.

In addition, cardiologist Dr. Tara Narula at Northwell Health uttered that lack of sleeping can turn on the sympathetic nervous system, the "fight or flight," which could raise blood pressure. Those people who have metabolic syndromes, they need to have at least three of these symptoms such as "Elevated or enlarged waist circumference, low HDL ['good' cholesterol], high triglycerides, high blood pressure and high fasting blood sugar."

Study Results

A group of scientists from the American Heart Association were involved in the experiment. The team selected 1344 adults, most of them were 49 years old and 42 percent of them were male, who agreed to spend one night in a sleep laboratory, Business Standard reported.

The result showed that 39.2 percent of the participants had at least three of the risk factors and during an average follow-up of 16.6 years, 22 percent of the participants died. After the detailed analysis, Dr. Tara Narula said, seven to eight hours of sleep are recommended for adults each night, not including naps. Apart from the risk factors, everyone should practice good sleep hygiene.