Chase Back of a Nude

The authors do not know why sleep seems to be associated with less calcification; however, they propose three possible explanations.
First, there may be unknown factors common to both sleep and heart disease -- factors the researchers did not know to measure.
deposits. Other studies have looked at sleep apnea -- periods during sleep when an individual stops breathing.
Sleep apnea is associated with high blood pressure and heart attacks, but the authors did not measure this sleep phenomenon.
The authors conclude that "this study demonstrates that objectively measured sleep is inversely associated with coronary artery calcification. This study further demonstrates the utility of a simple objective measure Second, inflammation elsewhere in the body increases the risk of calcification, and this effect can be influenced by the body's natural anti-inflammatory hormone, cortisol. This hormone is released in sync with a person's sleep patterns. Increased time asleep might increase the release of cortisol -- which, in turn, might reduce inflammation and, therefore, calcium deposits.Third, blood pressure declines during sleep. Thus, it might be the case that the longer people sleep, the less their heart is exposed to elevated blood pressure. The authors note that this is the and coronary artery calcium