Sleeping for between six and eight hours a night 'reduces risk of heart problems and strokes'

Sleeping for between six and eight hours a night could be key to cutting the risk of heart problems and stroke, according to a new study.

Researchers found people who sleep for fewer than six hours a night were twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as those who sleep for between six and eight hours.

They also had a two-thirds higher risk of congestive heart failure, where the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body weakens with potentially damaging effects on other organs.

Sleeping for more than eight hours a night was associated with more than double the risk of angina and a 19 per cent higher likelihood of coronary artery disease.

The US authors said the study, published online in the journal Clinical Cardiology, was the first to look at sleep duration in relation to five different cardiovascular problems.

Lead author Dr Saurabh Aggarwal, of Chicago Medical School, said: ‘People whose sleep duration is at the extremes are at the highest risk of cardiovascular events, and the risk decreases as the number reaches a middle point.

‘Six to eight hours is the best period of sleep duration according to this study.’

More than 159,000 people died from cardiovascular disease in the UK in 2011, according to the British Heart Foundation