Napping increases risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease
In the United States, United Kingdom and Northern European countries we’re often told that the best way to improve our afternoon concentration and attention span in the Office, or at home, is by taking a nap after lunch - like the Siestas taken by the folks down in Mexico and the hot Southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece.
Diabetes UK Charity – new study confirms link
However a new study from a United Kingdom charity – Diabetes UK – seems to indicate that having a regular nap, or even a single nap per week, could increase our risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes by more than one fourth.
This serious disease is now reaching epidemic proportions and increasing rapidly in many western countries, and we’re especially concerned about it because it also poses a serious longer term threat to our heart health.
Serious complications – heart disease and stroke
Type 2 Diabetes is a condition that affects over 2 million British people, where the body is unable to properly regulate the levels of sugar in the blood, and the sufferer must take insulin medication tablets for the rest of their life. There is currently no cure for diabetes. If the condition is not managed carefully it can lead to a number of possible future medical complications such as coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, gangrene or blindness, so it is something we definitely want to avoid getting if at all possible.
Some scientists have cautioned that the apparent increased risk of developing diabetes amongst nap takers may just be linked to other lifestyle factors. For instance these people are possibly more likely to be physically inactive, and have more unhealthy lifestyles than the rest of the study participants.
But daytime napping may also cause disturbance to normal nocturnal sleeping patterns – a problem that is all too common amongst night time and shift workers. This lack of sleep can cause coronary heart disease and cancer, as well as an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, compared with those who adhere to normal sleeping patterns based on the natural environmental rhythms of night and day lighting conditions. It is believed that this is due to the trigger of hormonal and other body functions that inhibit and interfere with the normal production of insulin, which controls the body’s critical system of blood sugar regulation.
Obesity still far greater risk for Diabetes
The study was based on scientific data collected from more than 16,000 older Chinese volunteers, and also considered mitigating factors such as obesity. It compared those who never took a daytime nap, with those who took at least one period of daytime sleep per week. It’s results were presented by the Director of Research at Diabetes UK – Doctor Iain Frame, who cautioned that despite the increased risk discovered by this study, obesity and weight problems still represented by far, a more serious threat of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
High Systolic Low Diastolic Blood Pressure
Blood Pressure Measurement Units
Blood pressure is quoted in millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). There are two numbers which are normally written, for example, as 120/80 and pronounced ‘one twenty over eighty’. This is around the optimum pressure, (although 110/70 is sometimes quoted as a more preferable blood pressure), and is common for people who have normal blood pressure.
Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure
The first reading is known as the Systolic pressure, and this is defined as the pressure when the heart ‘beats’, and reflects the pressure in the aorta which is the the large artery which carries blood coming out of your heart, and aorta’s primary branches that carry blood around the body. The systolic pressure is always the largest number, and represents the highest pressure of blood during each heartbeat as blood is pumped into the arteries.
The second reading is known as the Diastolic blood pressure, (resting blood pressure) and refers to the pressure inside the aorta and it’s various branches between each heart beat. Blood that remains in the Aorta after the beat creates the pressure that forms the diastolic reading, and it exits the aorta prior to the next beat.
Blood Pulse Pressure
This term defines the difference between the two different blood pressure readings. For most people the pulse pressure should be approximately 40 mm Hg. This is the formal figure, although it can vary by a few points without being seen as unusual.
How the aging process affects blood pressure
Your blood pressure is unlikely to stay static as you progress through the various life stages from childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, and then middle and old age. Young people’s aortas are supple and and flexible so they can easily enlarge and stretch as blood enters the vessel. Because of this expansion the pressure is kept relatively low which is why most young people have healthy normal or low systolic blood pressure readings.
However, in older people the aorta begins to get more brittle, which can be aggravated by diet and other lifestyle choices. As it hardens it is able to expand less, and so it exerts greater resistance to the heart beat, and this is why the Systolic blood pressure reading tends to increase with age. The medical profession have a target of less than 140 mm Hg systolic pressure for a 50 year old person, unless suffering from kidney problems or diabetes, in which case this is reduced by 10 points.
Why do some people have much lower diastolic bp than systolic blood pressure?
As the systolic pressure rises with age due to the stiffening of the aorta, more blood is forced into surrounding blood vessels during the heart beat, and this then causes less volume of blood remaining during the resting phase to maintain the diastolic blood pressure, which is why it can become significantly lower than the rising systolic. This can develop into diastolic hypotension.
Lowering systolic pressure is the physician’s primary treatment goal
High systolic and diastolic blood pressure are both undesirable, and are responsible for an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Because of this, doctors almost always aim to treat the high systolic pressure. However, this may sometimes result in an even larger gap between the systolic and diastolic readings.
Under 50 years of age
When people under 50 years old develop blood pressure problems it is more common to experience raised diastolic blood pressure readings – diastolic hypertension, which then stabilise or even fall.
Over 50 years of age
People aged over 50 years tend to suffer from higher systolic blood pressure – systolic hypertension, but the diastolic pressure may fall as a result as explained above. Lower diastolic pressure means that the pulse pressure also tends to get larger.
Shift work causes heart disease and cancer
Following this week’s news that a Scandinavian woman has been paid financial compensation after developing breast cancer following years of working night shifts, and with 20% of United Kingdom employees involved in shift work, we’re looking into the whole subject of shift rostering, staff rotas and their long-standing related link to increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and cancer.
Denmark is the first country to formally recognise the health risks of prolonged sleep deprivation due to shift work schedules, disturbed sleeping patterns, fatigue, and the eating problems caused by workers in many diverse industries having to work regular or interrupted shift work patterns. There have been approximately 40 successful claims related to work rosters to date.
Who is doing the research?
The research was carried out in 2007 and led by Dr Vincent Cogliano of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) – a French based United Nations organisation affiliated to the World Health Organisation. This organisation specialises in the study of cancer risks. The conclusions from their work that focussed on women such as nurses and air hostesses, showed that they face an elevated risk of breast cancer if they are involved in long term shift work and anti-social hours working arrangements.
The evidence was reinforced by animal studies showing that exposure to nocturnal light, or simulated jet lag substantially boosted the development of carcinogenic tumours.
Why does shift work cause health problems?
There is plenty of evidence going back many years that working during the night can cause a variety of health problems. There have been epidemiological studies – the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations – conducted on people who suffer disruption of the normal body clock (or circadian rhythm) due to their working patterns.
The main factors influencing the development of these health issues are :-
- Sleep deprivation and sleep debt due to shift schedule
- Sleeping pattern disruption as a result of shiftwork
- Loss of synchronisation with natural light levels and light level transitions
- Eating and nutritional disorders associated with night work
- Exhaustion and fatigue, work related
- Number of years involved with shift pattern working
- Greater accident risk due to shift rota
The risk of night time working to human health has now been compared only marginally less than some well known carcinogens such as asbestos or chemical pollutants. A report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed a 36% greater risk of breast cancer for women who had worked night shifts for more than 30 years, compared with women who had never worked nights.
The role of Melatonin in suppressing illness
Melatonin is a human hormone that is used to regulate the body’s internal clock. It has been shown to have beneficial effects in preventing the development of some types of cancer. It is believed that major alterations in sleep patterns in shift workers can suppress the production of melatonin in the body.
What you can do to reduce your risk
you don’t have to fall victim to this increasing occupational health risk. There are a number of short and longer term actions that you can pursue to reduce your risk of developing a dread disease such as heart disease or cancer, related to your current working pattern :-
- Talk to your employer about your health concerns – they may offer you an alternative working arrangement or shift pattern
- Ask your doctor’s advice about how to cope with the effects of shift working
- Have regular health checks especially if you have been working at night for many years
- Try to reduce the length of the night shift if possible – your employer may be able to offer more flexible rostering. 12 hour shift work is more problematic than an 8 hour shift
- Do not work nights for many years or decades as this increases the risk even further
- Consider planning to re-train, learn new skills, or applying for a different position within the company
What about shift work and Heart Disease?
Professor Andrew Watterson, an occupational health specialist based at Stirling University in Scotland, has recently been interviewed on the subject, and quoted “we [in the UK] are far behind Scandinavia in recognising the dangers [of shift working]. “I think we can say there is a big public health problem here,” he said. “The evidence has been good over a long period of time about cardiovascular disease and night work, gastro-intestinal problems and nights. “Work indicates there may be risks in terms of low birth-weight babies and longer pregnancies for women. “We don’t tend to identify the damage being done where shift working is prevalent and I think that’s an error. The damage is there but we don’t see it and we don’t count it.”
Olive Oil benefits Heart Health
Mediterranean people have grown and used Olives – the fruit of the olive tree, for thousands of years. It is believed to be responsible for the good health and longevity of the people who consume it, and it plays a major role in the modern Mediterranean diet too. Medical studies around the world have shown that olive oil offers a unique natural heart health protection, and increased chance of living a very long life.
Cretans have best health – consume most olive oil
The people of the island of Crete have been proven to enjoy the best health of any population group on earth, and it is no coincidence that they also annually consume the most olive oil per person, of any country in the world. A memorable quote from a 1948 article stated that ‘… a foreign visitor gets the impression that Cretan food literally floats in olive oil’.
Here are some examples of the traditional ways in which healthy fresh food is combined with generous amounts of olive oil :-
- Boiled Artichokes drenched in olive oil
- Leafy green vegetables drizzled with large amounts of olive oil
- Barley Bread dipped in olive oil
- Pork cooked in olive oil
It is interesting to note that any other types of fat are rarely used in Crete. The average adult consumption of olive oil is over 30 litres per person per year. This compares to virtually nil consumption in some Northern countries such as Germany.
Cretan diet produces lowest heart disease rates
The Cretan diet is now recognised as being responsible for the lowest rates of heart disease and cancer in the world, and this is believed to be largely due to their high consumption of olive oil. Evidence for this dates back to the 1950′s when scientific studies concluded that the Cretan population rarely suffered any instances of any cancers or cancer-related illnesses.
This discovery was initially, and is still greeted with surprise by foreign travelers from the United States and Northern Europe, whose dietary habits are quite different from those in Southern Europe, where fat consumption has traditionally been from animal derived fats. More recently, excessive quantities of any type of fat has been discouraged as it has been linked to coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Here are some interesting heart disease statistics from the 1950′s before the modern western diet had had an opportunity to infiltrate the historical dietary habits of various widespread worlwide populations :-
Deaths per 100,000 inhabitants from coronary heart disease
Finland – 466
United States – 424
Holland – 347
Italy – 200
Corfu – 149
Yugoslavia – 145
Japan – 64
Crete – 9
These statistics are truly staggering, as even the mighty, healthy fish eating Japanese, still managed over seven times the heart disease rate of the humble Cretans. By comparison, deaths in the technologically advanced United States peaked at over FORTY times that of Crete!