VIDEO: Health Risks of Insomnia

Host: People with insomnia have a higher risk of disease and even death — so much higher that poor sleep could actually triple your risk of heart failure. The study zeroed in on three major symptoms of insomnia: difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up feeling like you haven't slept enough. One of those symptoms will increase your risk of heart failure by 177% compared to people who sleep well. Two symptoms, and your heart failure risk will double. That's huge. And I'm not done — if you've got the insomnia hat trick with all three major symptoms, you've got triple the risk. They also have a higher risk of death from almost any cause, starting at 25% higher for one symptom and shooting up to 139% higher for all three.

Now before you comment — we've got difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and feeling like you didn't get a good sleep. So you could actually be sleeping eight hours and just not sleeping well. And that can be caused by other problems, right?

Dr. Stengler: Yes, there are other medical conditions — like sleep apnea, for example, or restless leg syndrome — that can affect sleep quality. So you may be sleeping, but the quality of sleep is very poor.

Host: Okay, so it seems like the main thing is having good quality sleep. Because if it just takes you a while to fall asleep, that's okay as long as you're getting a good eight hours. Why is that so important?

Dr. Stengler: There are a few reasons. That's when your body regenerates — including your brain cells and your heart. It's a big stress on the body when you're not getting enough sleep.

Host: Okay, so what can we do to help with insomnia?

Dr. Stengler: Well, first of all, people have to establish a regular pattern. They need to get to sleep typically no later than 10 p.m. Your body has a natural circadian rhythm it wants to follow. If you start going to bed past 11 p.m. or later, it throws off your stress hormone balance and you don't get that deep REM sleep — that's when your body regenerates. So healthy patterns, not using stimulants like caffeine later in the day, and if need be, using natural sleep agents to help you fall and stay asleep. That can range from things like passionflower, which is a mildly calming herb, to melatonin, the sleep hormone.

Host: I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with having a good pattern. Because people fall asleep watching television, fall asleep on the computer, fall asleep reading a book — those are all bad habits. Then you wake up two hours later feeling terrible, and you can't stay asleep. So I think the pattern is pretty key.

Dr. Stengler: No doubt. A lot of people do have a poor pattern. By the way, other recent studies have shown that people gain weight when they're up at night on the internet — on social media and so forth. People gain weight much more readily when they're not sleeping enough.

Host: Right, and at that point you're not really doing anything productive anyway.

Dr. Stengler: Exactly. It slows your metabolism down, people are more apt to snack — but ultimately, when you don't get enough sleep your brain cells cannot regenerate. And as you can see, it's harmful to the whole body. It stresses your heart, stress hormones go up, your immune system gets affected — the whole body is affected.

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