By Bharat Upadhyay

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS): Sleepless flocks take a note, researchers have found people who have trouble sleeping may be more prone to stroke, heart attack or other cardiovascular diseases. Do yoga and you can feel sleepy, Indian experts said.

Health experts here have found solution to the problems raised by the Chinese experts. According to them yogas -- Shavasana, Vajrasana and Bhramari Pranayam along with a healthy diet may curb the sleeplessness.

According to Sahil Kohli, Consultant, Neurology at Narayana Superspeciality Hospital in Gurugram, research has shown that more risk of having a stroke or brain attack is there if you have insomnia and this risk is even more pronounced in the age group of 18-34 years.

"Reduced sleep leads to inflammation which leads to causes high blood pressure, glucose intolerance and both of which can increase heart and stroke risk.

"Frequently seen in clinical practice that chronic insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea are responsible for Atrial fibrillation which is also linked to stroke risk," Kohli told IANS.

"It is highly advisable that patients who have reduced sleep and even those who feel fatigued even after sleep at night needs evaluation for sleep disorders which can be evaluated by a sleep study," Kohli suggested. 

The study, published in the journal Neurology, involved 487,200 people in China with an average age of 51. Participants had no history of stroke or heart disease at the beginning of the study.

The people were then followed for an average of about 10 years. During that time, there were 130,032 cases of stroke, heart attack and other similar diseases.

People who had all three symptoms of insomnia were 18 per cent more likely to develop these diseases than people who did not have any symptoms.

According to Atul Prasad, Director in Neurology Department at BLK Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, there have been multiple studies linking chronic insomnia to the occurrence of stroke.

"Of late there have been multiple studies postulating an increased risk of stroke in patients with chronic insomnias (via increased cortisol levels and inflammation), and in cases of periodic limb movement syndromes leading on to hypercoagulable state," Prasad told IANS.

He added that the evidence is convincing in greater part to the increased risk of stroke in individuals with sleep disorders and robust evaluation of the same in concordance with a neurologist or pulmonologist is mandated for correct diagnosis and further risk stratification of these patients.

According to the doctors, if you are facing any such problem related to sleep, then follow these tips.

*No matter how busy your routine is, but to get good sleep, it is most important that you set a time for your sleep.

*For deep sleep, you can also play light instrumental music in the bedroom, which will give you peace of mind and sleep will come quickly, the doctor said.

*After working all day, if you stick to a computer or TV even in your rest moments, then make a distance from them, at least before sleeping, start avoiding working on the computer, Prasad suggested.

*He also asked people to follow a healthy diet.

"There are some types of yoga that make you feel sleepy. Such as Shavasana, Vajrasana, Bhramari Pranayam, etc. Doing these regularly will also get rid of insomnia problem and fatigue will be completely removed," he concluded.