You may not want to compare your partner's snoring to the roar of a jet engine, but either sound could be just as bad for your health.
A new study shows that nighttime noise can raise your blood pressure while you are sleeping.
The researchers, led by Lars Jarup of the Imperial College London, believe these small but significant blips in blood pressure could cause long-term chronic high blood pressure and raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
A previous study by the same team found that people living near busy airports are more likely to develop high blood pressure than those who reside in quieter areas.
To investigate further, the researchers recruited 140 volunteers who live close to four major European airports. Their blood pressure was monitored while they slept and recordings were made of background sounds.
The results revealed that the volunteers' blood pressure increased noticeably after they experienced a so-called "noise event" - a sound louder than 35 decibels. It was the decibel level, and not the origin of the sound, that was the key factor.
That means a low-flying jet, passing traffic or a partner's snoring could have the same effect on blood pressure, according to the findings published in the European Heart Journal. "Thirty-five decibels in not very loud at all," Dr. Jarup said in an interview.
He expects the new study will add to the growing debate about the expansion of many major international airports. "I think it would be a good idea to restrict or perhaps even ban night flights," he said. Homes may also need better insulation to buffer sleeping residents from outside sounds.
"And, obviously, if you have a snoring partner, you can use ear plugs," he added.
Drinking in moderation
A growing body of medical evidence suggests that moderate daily alcohol consumption can be good for the heart. But what qualifies as "moderate drinking?"
A new Canadian study suggests one drink is fine, but two may be too many - at least in one sitting.
For the study, the researchers asked volunteers to consume a variety of drinks - red wine, diluted ethanol (pure alcohol) and water - while measuring their physical reactions.
One alcoholic drink had no significant effect on blood pressure, heart rate or the nervous system. But it did cause arteries to dilate, or open up, allowing blood to flow more easily through the vessels and thus reducing strain on the heart.
Two drinks, however, increased blood pressure, heart rate as well as nervous system activity. To make matters worse, the ability of the blood vessels to expand in response to the increase in blood flow was diminished, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
"This experiment suggests that one drink may give you some of the putative benefits of alcohol, but many of those benefits may be lost if you increase the blood alcohol concentration quickly with two drinks," said lead researcher John Floras of the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the Toronto General Hospital.
In the study, two glasses of wine were downed within 1.5 hours.
He said it may still be fine to have two drinks a day, provided they are not consumed too close together. "If we space the time out and have a second drink four or so hours later, it might have a different effect on the heart," he said.
SMOKING DOPE BAD FOR MS
Doctors are well aware that some multiple sclerosis patients routinely use marijuana to ease pain and improve mood. But a new study suggests this dope-smoking habit may worsen some symptoms of the disease.
MS is a neurological disorder. The body's disease-fighting immune system malfunctions and starts attacking myelin, the protein coating that surrounds and protects nerve fibres. The illness can affect muscle control, strength, balance, vision, sensations as well as mental functions.
One common problem is that MS can slow the speed at which the brain handles and processes information - and marijuana seems to accentuate this tendency, said one of the study's authors, Anthony Feinstein, a psychiatry professor at the University of Toronto.
The study involved 140 MS patients, including 10 who admitted to using dope. The findings revealed that the pot smokers performed 50 per cent slower than the marijuana abstainers on tests measuring information-processing speed.
"If you are not as cognitively sharp, you are going to have difficulty working; it affects your relationships and your day-to-day functioning," said Dr. Feinstein, whose study was published in the journal Neurology.
He encourages his patients not to use dope. "My message is that we can do just as well, if not better, with a medication that has less side effects ... but they often refuse to listen," he said. "There is no doubt that my patients who use it like it a lot."
ptaylor@globeandmail.com