The Importance of Sleep to Maintain a Healthy Heart

By: Dr. D.P. Suresh, Executive Medical Director
Florence Wormald Heart & Vascular Institute at St. Elizabeth

For years, the American Heart Association (AHA) has promoted its Simple 7™ for optimal heart health. These factors have served as an effective guide for us, as physicians, to encourage our patients to practice healthy behaviors. Recently, the AHA went one step further. It expanded this list to include a new component – sleep.

By adding sleep to the mix, the AHA has created its new Essential 8™. Getting better sleep is now part of this list to lower a patient’s risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. The new essentials that impact heart health include:

1. Eating a healthy diet.
2. Getting enough exercise.
3. Maintaining a healthy weight.
4. Keeping cholesterol low.
5. Maintaining low blood sugar.
6. Reducing blood pressure.
7. Avoiding smoking or vaping.
8. Getting enough sleep.

Nationwide, approximately 70 million Americans have consistent sleep problems. That means nearly one in three adults are sleep-deprived. A night or two of poor sleep isn’t a big problem. However, if it persists, the negative effects can add up and have a long-term impact.

To be healthy, most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night. Children need even more — up to 16 hours for children under age 5 to 10 hours for 18-year-olds.

Poor sleep has been linked to many problems, including mental illness, increased risk of injury, lower quality of life, and chronic diseases. It is also well known that adults who get less than seven hours of sleep nightly face increased cardiovascular risks.

It’s important that your patients understand the value of getting good sleep. I work to explain to my patients the critical impact sleep has on heart health, including:

• Blood pressure: Blood pressure drops during sleep. Not getting enough sleep keeps blood pressure elevated longer, leading to cardiovascular damage.
• Type 2 diabetes: Sleep plays a role in controlling blood sugar levels. Sustained high blood sugar levels can harm blood vessels. There is some evidence that sleep helps lower blood sugar levels.
• Obesity: It’s well known that poor sleep contributes directly to weight gain, particularly in children and adolescents who need more sleep. Insufficient sleep affects the part of the brain that controls hunger, prompting people to eat more.

Fatigue and lack of energy can also, over time, lead to higher stress levels, poorer food choices and limit a person’s ability to engage in physical activity – which is much needed for good cardiovascular health.