Your heart has a very demanding job. It’s constantly circulating oxygenated blood to every organ in your body. Poor diet, inactivity, and high stress put even more strain on the heart.

During sleep, your heart rate and blood pressure decrease because your heart doesn’t have to pump as much blood to the other organs that also slow during sleep. Sleep gives your heart the rest it needs to recover and prepare for the demands of tomorrow. Giving your heart sleep can keep it stronger, longer.

In a recent study, men with sleeping disorders were found to be 2-2.6 times more likely to have a heart attack and 1.5-4 times more likely to have a stroke over the 14-year duration of the study (source).

This affects women too. In fact, some experts warn that women are at a higher risk because women are more prone to insomnia (source). A recent study of over 160,000 people showed a clear link between sleep issues and heart disease. According to this research, difficulty getting to sleep, staying asleep, and waking up tired increased the risks by 27%, 11% and 18% respectively (source).
So what does that mean for you?  It’s important to think of sleep as an equal player to diet and exercise. To reap the rewards of better sleep, start by setting and respecting a bedtime that gives you at least 7 hours of sleep. Your heart will thank you.