'Sleepless nights' could pose heart disease risks equivalent to smoking: New study..........

In a new study, scientist have found that a bad night's sleep could trigger health risks equivalent to that of smoking.

The research shows that people who sleep for less than seven hours were up to four times more likely to suffer a stroke and doubled their risk of a heart attack, reported the Daily Express.

Professor Valery Gafarov, of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said at a conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia that poor sleep should be taken as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease along with smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet. The WHO study examined the reason behind heart disease in 657 men aged 25 to 64 with no history of heart attack, stroke or diabetes in Novosibirsk, Russia.

They found that almost two-thirds of participants who had a heart attack also had a sleep disorder. In addition to that, men with a sleep disorder had a two to 2.6 times higher risk of a heart attack and a 1.5 to four times higher risk of stroke just five to 14 years later.