About 10% of the world's population experience insomnia that qualifies as a medical condition. People over the age of 60 are the age group that have the highest reported levels of insomnia.

Sleep is as important to your health as a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Whatever your reason for sleep loss, insomnia can affect you both mentally and physically. People with insomnia report a lower quality of life compared with people who are sleeping well.

It leaves you tired and makes it difficult to function well during the day. Insomnia can be the cause or the result of other health problems, and it can affect anyone.

Apart from the severe reasons of insomnia, there are some lifestyle factors that increase the risk for insomnia, including:

• Changing your sleep routine often.
• Being interrupted during sleep.
• Taking long naps during the day.
• Not getting enough exercise.
• Using caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, or certain drugs.
• Using electronic devices too close to bedtime.

Lack of sleep, even in the short term, can negatively affect:

• energy
• mood
• work or school performance
• memory, concentration, and decision-making
• safety

How is it to sleep “normally”?

Average human spend 1/3 of his life sleeping. How much sleep is “enough sleep” varies from person to person, but most adults need seven to eight hours a night. Getting less than six hours of sleep is known to be bad for overall health. Stress, jet lag, shift work and other sleep disturbances make it more likely to develop heart disease and risk factors for heart disease, including obesity and diabetes. A regular lack of sleep may lead to high blood pressure (hypertension) in children and adults.

The less you sleep, the higher your blood pressure may go. People who sleep six hours or less may have steeper increases in blood pressure. If you already have high blood pressure, not sleeping well may make your blood pressure worse.

It's thought that sleep helps the body control hormones needed to control stress and metabolism. Over time, a lack of sleep could cause swings in hormones. Hormone changes can lead to high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

Melatonin is a hormone in your body that plays a role in sleep. The production and release of melatonin in the brain is connected to time of day, increasing when it's dark and decreasing when it's light. People commonly use melatonin for sleep disorders, such as insomnia and jet lag.

Released by the brain’s pineal gland, melatonin can influence the following body functions:

The circadian rhythm – Our circadian rhythm is another term for the body’s internal clock. This 24-hour cycle governs many vital processes—especially the sleep, wake cycle. In other words, our circadian rhythms help regulate when we fall asleep and when we wake up. Melatonin levels are highest at night and lowest during the day.

The menstrual cycle – Studies show that melatonin can also help regulate the menstrual cycle.

Brain functioning – An incredibly complex organ, the brain can lose neural connections over time. Scientists have discovered melatonin’s ability to protect these networks, as well as promote regeneration.

This particular systematic review and meta-analysis looked at the association between insomnia and the incidence of heart attack, also called myocardial infarction (MI). It included controlled observational studies about heart attacks in people eighteen or older.

Researchers included nine studies in their analysis and research, including 153,881 people with insomnia and 1,030,375 people who did not have insomnia.

Researchers found that the risk for heart attack was higher among females with insomnia. However, the risk association was still present across key subgroups based on sex, co-comorbidities, and age. The results indicate that insomnia is a serious risk factor that all adults should take seriously.

Researchers concluded that people should treat insomnia as another risk factor for heart attack. With this in mind, people can take steps to treat insomnia and thus lower their heart attack risk.

You can track the effect of bad or good sleep by measuring your blood pressure before and after sleep. In a couple of weeks, you will have a clear picture of how the quality of sleep affects your blood pressure. Automatic blood pressure MED-55 with a memory of 60 last measurements with a date and time can help you keep your blood pressure under control. It also can be used for 2 people at the same time.

MED-55 has a 3-check intellectual system. In 3check mode, the device automatically performs three consecutive measurements and analyzes the results using a special algorithm. Because blood pressure constantly fluctuates, a result determined in this way is more reliable than one produced by a single measurement. You can choose between the 3check mode with a triple measurement and the single measurement mode

Using a blood pressure monitor daily, while experiencing insomnia, is a good way to prevent severe consequences of this decease.

What can I do to get better sleep?

• Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including on the weekends.
• Get enough natural light, especially earlier in the day. Try going for a morning or lunchtime walk.
• Get enough physical activity during the day. Try not to exercise within a few hours of bedtime.
• Avoid artificial light, especially within a few hours of bedtime. Use a blue light filter on your computer or smartphone.
• Don’t eat or drink within a few hours of bedtime; avoid alcohol and foods high in fat or sugar, in particular.
• Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.

Check out the general recommendations for blood pressure measurement at home and follow us on Instagram and Facebook and keep your blood pressure under control!