Cardiovascular consequences of inadequate sleep

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society have recommended that adults get at least seven hours of sleep per night.

So consequently, when we refer to short or insufficient sleep, we'll be describing patients who have obtained less than these seven hours of sleep.

We'll also be talking about insomnia, a condition that's often equated with insufficient sleep, but is a completely separate concept.

In fact, insomnia is defined by three characteristics, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or waking up too early in the morning and being unable to fall back asleep.

Our patients may have one, two, or three of these symptoms, and they're often accompanied by dissatisfaction with sleep and patients reporting that they don't feel refreshed when they wake up in the morning.

So as I mentioned, while patients may perceive not getting adequate sleep, this may not be the case.

So it's possible to have insomnia with sufficient sleep and also insomnia with insufficient sleep.

Chronic insomnia occurs when these symptoms occur multiple times per week for more than three months.

We'll also cover obstructive sleep apnea, the cessation of breathing that occurs repeatedly throughout the night.

Oftentimes, patients become aware from their bed partners who are awakened by the loud snoring that accompanies sleep apnea.

Patients may report feelings of sleepiness during the day from not achieving good quality sleep.

And finally, shift work is another situation that influences sleep and is associated with both the mistiming of sleep and mistiming of meals.

as well as reduced sleep duration.

Shift workers are trying to sleep at a time that's unnatural and often don't get enough sleep during the day.