There are few things that feel quite as good as a full night of sleep. When you wake up in the morning after sleeping all night, you tend to feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and able to focus in a way that simply isn’t possible when you are tired.
Of course, despite all of those benefits, most people don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis. Our modern world is extremely busy, and we push ourselves to the limit going from one thing to the next. In the end, countless adults come up short on sleep night after night, and a variety of negative side effects are the result.
In this post, we’d like to talk a bit about how sleep can impact your heart health. If you needed any more motivation to get serious about logging enough sleep, perhaps the content below will give you a kickstart.
How Much is Right?
Before talking about any possible connections between sleep and heart health, we’d like to first discuss how much sleep you should actually be getting each night. The 8-hour number has been tossed around for generations as a standard, but is that the right answer for most people? Well, it’s a good place to start.
There is no firm answer for adult sleep requirements, as it will vary somewhat from person to person. The general recommendation for an adult is between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Obviously, 8 is right in the middle of that range, so it makes sense that many people think of 8 hours as being a full night of sleep.
One important piece of the puzzle when determining how much sleep to strive for on a nightly basis is listening to your body. If you feel great on seven hours of sleep and feel like you can focus all day without any trouble, you may not need to get any more. However, for other people, seven hours of sleep may leave them feeling groggy and cranky, which could be an indication that something closer to eight or nine hours is needed. Pay attention to how much sleep you get each night, and then monitor your feelings throughout the next day. It should quickly become clear what amount of sleep is best for you.
Connecting Sleep and Heart Health
As a result of various studies, there seems to be a connection between the amount of sleep an individual gets on a nightly basis and that individual’s heart health. Those who sleep too little do appear to have higher incidences of problems like coronary artery disease and cardiovascular disease. So, in addition to making yourself feel better throughout the day after a good night of sleep, it’s possible that getting enough sleep will also do your heart a favor.
One of the things that happens during a good night of sleep is that your blood pressure drops for an extended period of time. So, if you aren’t sleeping for very long at night, your blood pressure will remain higher for more hours, and elevated blood pressure is a risk factor for both heart attack and stroke. Sleeping enough isn’t a cure for high blood pressure all on its own, of course, but it is a way to allow your blood pressure to lower itself for around 8 hours (depending on how long you sleep).
You can also think about the sleep you get each night as having an indirectly positive impact on your heart health. If you are better rested, for instance, you might be more likely to visit the gym or just go for a walk outside. We know that regular exercise is one of the key ingredients in keeping your heart healthy over the long run, and it stands to reason that a rested person would be more willing to exercise than one who is tired each day. Of course, you should always check with your doctor before starting any new kind of workout regimen.
How to Get Better Sleep?
It’s one thing to be motivated to get better sleep – it’s another thing entirely to actually make it happen. If you have trouble getting the sleep you need, it might be possible to make some minor adjustments to your sleeping environment to get on track. For instance, something as simple as going to bed at the same time every night is a good start, as your body will get used to the rhythm. Also, keeping your bedroom on the cool side can help you settle into a restorative sleep more easily. And, prior to bedtime, making sure you have been active during the day will give your body a reason to look forward to the rest.
It does need to be said that some people have serious sleep conditions which cannot be corrected by simple at-home fixes. If you are struggling with a sleep condition, seek the help of a medical professional.
Reach Out Today
At Beverly Hills Cardiovascular, Dr. David Filsoof and his staff offer a long list of services. If you are in need of a cardiologist who can provide what you need in a friendly and caring manner, please contact us today to make an appointment. Included in our many services is echocardiography, cardioversion, treadmill exercise stress test, and more. Thanks for visiting!
