Good sleep – rest that is long enough, of good quality, and rejuvenating – has been described as “essential” to good heart health, although it is far from the only factor.
Obstructive sleep apnea, which affects nighttime breathing, has been linked to a higher risk of hypertension and even stroke. Something as simple as exposure to nighttime light could also weaken this key organ.
According to a five-year study funded by the US National Institutes of Health, it appears that sleep habit may be a “new risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), independent of traditional CVD risk factors and the quantity and/or quality of sleep.”
Sleep regularity matters
This article asked people aged 45 to 84 to wear a wrist actigraph, which tracked their activity level, on their non-dominant arm for a week. They also recorded their waking and sleeping times in a diary.
Then, over the next five years, researchers looked at who had heart diseases or problems and who did not. They also received questionnaires about their sleep quality, insomnia and daytime fatigue, and underwent a polysomnography, or “sleep study,” for one night.
A sleep study tracks your physical functions, such as breathing, while you sleep. It can be used to detect conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea.
Over the five years following these tests, the researchers underwent follow-up exams and were also called every nine months to a year to see if they had developed any heart health problems.
When these results were compared, it appeared that participants had the most “irregular” sleep patterns, whose bedtime changed by more than 90 minutes. from night to night for a week, faced about twice the risk of heart health problems as those with the most regular routines.
This link appears to be stronger for minority populations, particularly black participants.
In case you need further convincing, another 2024 paper named sleep regularity a “stronger predictor of mortality” than even sleep duration.
Improving your sleep habits can help
An NIH article on this study says, “Fortunately, the study also provided some good news.”
Researchers also found that improving sleep habits could reduce the risk of heart problems over time. This might mean going to bed and waking up around the same time each day and getting enough sleep to start (seven to nine hours).
These are part of a series of studies that suggest that our body clock (circadian rhythm), instead of just the duration and quality of our kip, may be the key to true rest and health.
Of course, good sleep is just one factor that can help protect your heart. The American Heart Association (AHA) actually only added sleep to its list of tips for better health in 2022, moving suggestions from the “Simple 7” to the new “Essential 8.”
Dr. Nour Makarem previously told the American Heart Association (AHA): “Greater adherence to all the essential parameters of life and improving your cardiovascular health can slow down your body’s aging process and have many long-term benefits.
“Reduced biological aging is not only associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease; it is also associated with longer life and a lower risk of death.”
The full list of Essential 8 rules is as follows:
- Eat better,
- Be more active,
- Stop smoking if you smoke,
- Sleep healthy,
- Manage your weight,
- Control your cholesterol intake,
- Manage your blood sugar,
- Manage your blood pressure.
Gn Health
