Sleep and Heart Health Connection: After the hustle and bustle of the day, if you ignore night sleep considering it just a rest, then definitely pay attention to your habit once. Sleep is not just a means of relieving fatigue, but is also essential for many important processes of the body. Heart health is also related to this. A recent health study has linked adequate and good quality sleep to reduced cardiovascular risks such as heart attack and stroke. The report claims a 35% reduction in risk, linking about 7-8 hours of sleep to better heart health. However, this does not mean that just by getting enough sleep the risk of heart disease goes away.
What is the connection between sleep and heart?
According to the report of CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), when we sleep, many important processes continue while the body gets rest. During adequate sleep, the body gets a chance to balance changes related to blood pressure, hormones and stress. On the contrary, continuously getting less sleep can put additional stress on the body. Lack of sleep has been linked to high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors in the long term. All these conditions can further increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Why is 7-8 hours of sleep considered better?
Every person’s sleep needs may be slightly different, but for most adults about 7-9 hours of sleep is recommended. Getting adequate sleep of 7-8 hours continuously can give the body enough time for recovery. Not only the duration of sleep, but also its quality and regularity is important. If a person stays in bed for eight hours, but his sleep is interrupted again and again or he does not feel refreshed after waking up in the morning, then the problem will not be solved just by counting the hours.
What can be the harm from less sleep?
Staying up late every night and getting up early in the morning can prevent the body from getting complete sleep. If this happens for a long time, it can cause fatigue, irritability and difficulty concentrating throughout the day. In some people, lack of sleep can also affect hormones that control appetite and weight. Furthermore, irregular sleep and poor sleep quality are considered adverse for heart health. Especially if problems like smoking, poor eating habits, physical inactivity, stress or high blood pressure are also present along with it, then the risk can increase further.
Not just sleep, these habits are also important
Sleeping only 7-8 hours is not enough to keep the heart healthy. It is also important to have a balanced diet, regular exercise, healthy weight, control blood pressure and blood sugar and stay away from smoking. If you have loud snoring, feeling like breathing stops during sleep, headache in the morning or excessive sleep throughout the day, then it is better to consult a doctor. These may be signs of a problem like sleep apnea.