Divorce Could Increase Chances of Heart Attacks, Strokes and Kidney Damage

Moving on after divorce, no matter how steady a person you are, is challenging. Underlining the fact, a new study says that sleeping badly after a divorce could cause dangerous increases in blood pressure, leading to serious illness . The list of serious health issues, as per the study, include heart attacks and strokes, kidney damage, eyes damage and brain diseases. In the initial few months after a break up, sleep issues are probably normal and this is an adjustment process that people can typically cope with well. However, sleep issues that persist for an extended period may mean that you are potentially becoming depressed, leaving you vulnerable to health problems.

The study looked at as many as 138 people who had divorced their partner about four months before the start of the study.

David Sbarra, an associate professor of psychology at University of Arizona, US, explained that the participants were asked to report on their quality of sleep and higher blood pressure was also measured.

"We saw changes in resting blood pressure were associated with sleep issues three months earlier. Earlier sleep issues predicted rise in resting blood pressure over time," Sbarra said.

Moreover, the study found that the longer sleep problems in people persisted after their break up, the more likely those problems were to have an adverse effect on the blood pressure.

Kendra Krietsh, Sbarra’s former student and now pursuing her doctorate in clinical psychology at University of Florida, US, said that people who have persistent difficulties sleeping after a break up should discover new ways to relax at bedtime. The study will be published in the journal Health Psychology.

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Source-Medindia