File photo of a good sleep (Photo: China Plus)

A groundbreaking new study has found that healthy sleep patterns can reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke, even if people have a high genetic predisposition to the conditions.

The study, conducted by Peking University and Tulane University's research team, was recently published in the European Heart Journal. The study followed 385,000 participants for an average of 8.5 years and recorded 4,667 cases of coronary heart disease and 2,650 instances of stroke, for a total of 7,280 cases.

"We found that people with good sleep habits had a 35 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and 34 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke compared to those who slept unhealthily,” researchers said.

Participants with the healthiest sleep patterns slept 7 to 8 hours a night. They also did not experience insomnia, snoring or daytime sleepiness.