Abstract

Background and purpose: Sleep is one the main physiological parameters in circadian rhythm. Poor sleep is associated with many health consequences such as increased overall mortality and metabolic syndrome in adults and children. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep and metabolic syndrome. Materials and methods: In a descriptive study, data of 2038 participants aged 20 to 70 years was collected from Yazd Health Study (YaS) using a researcher-made questionnaire. The metabolic syndrome was determined based on measuring waist circumference, triglyceride, HDL, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar levels. Data was analyzed in SPSS V.18. Results: The participants included 44.4 males. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in males and females was 34.6 and 49.1, respectively. The lowest rate of metabolic syndrome was found in people aged 20 to 29 years (14.7) and the highest rate was observed in those aged 60 to 69 years old (56.3). The results showed that people with less than six hours sleep and more than ten hours were 2.5 and 3.5 times more likely to develop metabolic syndrome, respectively. Individuals with unwanted wakeups –three times or more-(42), having more than three nightmares (50), taking three or more sleeping pills (80), and people who had more than 60 minutes delay in falling asleep (31) were more at risk of metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: Considering the importance of enough sleep, sleep hygiene practices are necessary to improve the quantity and quality of sleep in order to prevent metabolic syndrome. © 2017, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.