Insomnia and Asthma… Chicken or the Egg?
About 300 million people worldwide have asthma, a chronic respiratory disorder characterised by wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Known risk factors include smoking, obesity and air pollution… but what about bad sleep??
Insomnia, defined as having difficulties initiating or maintaining sleep, or having poor sleep quality. Did you know… Insomnia is the most common of all sleep disorders?? It is thought that all of us will experience insomnia at one point in our lives. For those of us who have chronic insomnia (i.e. it happens regularly), this can be quite serious. In addition to the negative effects of poor sleep quality (poor memory, concentration, bad mood, impact on depression and anxiety), researchers in Norway have found that there may be a link between insomnia and asthma.
The study included data from nearly 18,000 people, aged 20 to 65, in Norway. The researchers found that people who said they had difficulty falling asleep “often” or “almost every night” had a 65 percent and 108 percent increased risk, respectively, of developing asthma over 11 years.
People who said they woke too early and couldn’t get back to sleep “often” or “almost every night” had a 92 percent and 36 percent increased risk, respectively, of asthma. And those who had poor quality sleep at least once a week had a 94 percent increased risk of developing asthma, the findings showed.
However, the study doesn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship between insomnia and asthma. If you have experienced any of the symptoms of the above, please contact your doctor to discuss this.
Original article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/02/02/insomnia-triples-risk-asthma-say-scientists/
