Do You Know Your Sleep Cycle Can Affect Your Heart Health?

Unlike the popular misconception, getting quality sleep isn’t just associated with your energy levels. It's true that you might feel more tired and lethargic not getting a good night’s sleep but the physiological repercussions are even worse.

Studies have found that irregular sleep cycles are associated with the risks of heart attacks, brain strokes, and other types of potent cardiovascular diseases. All of these are potent triggers of premature and rising rates of global mortality.

Even the American Heart Association (AHA) has now included sleep duration as a part of the overall cardiovascular health score, besides diet, physical activity, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, etc.

This article will explore everything there is to know about the importance of the sleep cycle and its impacts on heart health.

What do Experts Suggest about the Relation between Sleep and Heart Health?

Not just the heart function, sleep cycle and quality have equally beneficial impacts on the healthy brain function of an individual. Since our cells and tissues recover and rejuvenate when we sleep, a lack of quality sleep increases the risks of oxidative stress and similar risk factors that contribute to poor heart health.

Reports from 2019 suggest that 32% of the recorded deaths were due to poor cardiovascular health. Out of that, around 85% of the people died due to a heart attack and stroke.

However, the good news is that the majority of these cardiovascular complications are preventable and manageable with proper diet, lifestyle choices, and regular health screening.

Recent studies conclude the relationship between sleeping patterns and different health factors like weight, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels. So, considering sleep as the new metric for monitoring cardiovascular health is crucial.

The My Life Check tool, which is curated by the AHA, has an updated scoring system between 0-100 points. The scores give a fair estimation of a person’s overall and cardiovascular health in general.

Typically, a score below 50 suggests the person has poor cardiovascular health. A score between 50-79 is considered moderate and scores above 80 indicate optimal cardiovascular health.

AHA’s objective with the Life’s Essential 8 is to create better awareness among the people with respect to optimal preservation of one’s cardiovascular and overall health. And, the addition of sleep patterns in the context is a giveaway that getting a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep throughout the night is a necessity for good health.

What are some Health Complications Associated with Poor Sleep Patterns?

Adults who don’t get quality sleep throughout the night are at heightened risk of poor cardiovascular health. This is a takeaway that most people are aware of.

However, what kind of chronic diseases are triggered by a poor sleep cycle? Keep in mind that these risk factors are directly associated with heightened risks of heart attacks, heart disease, and strokes.

Some of the conditions include:

High blood pressure

Sleep has direct ties with the blood pressure in the body. During a normal and quality sleep cycle, the blood pressure goes down, enabling the person to have standard physiological functions. People with poor sleeping patterns have their blood pressure at a high rate continuously, leading to elevated risks of heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke.

Type-2 diabetes

We are well aware of the fact that type-2 diabetes is primarily a lifestyle disease. Studies indicate that lack of sleep results in persistently high levels of blood sugar, which contributes to the risks of diabetes in the person.

Obesity

Obesity or even being overweight is a sign of metabolic disorder in the body. Not just in adults, poor sleep cycle contributes to unhealthy weight gain in both children and adolescents. Studies suggest that lack of sleep is associated with poor brain signals and hormonal balance, especially the hunger hormones like leptin and ghrelin.

Which Sleeping Disorders are Associated with Poor Heart Health?

Not only does lack of sleep contribute to the development of certain chronic diseases, but it can also be the other way around too.

This means that pre-existing chronic sleep disorders can also impact one’s heart health negatively. Following are the two major ones worth looking into:

Sleep apnea

This is a severe medical condition wherein the airways get blocked repeatedly while a person is sleeping. What this does is disrupt sleep and might even lead to obstructed oxygen flow into the brain, which can lead to fatal consequences.

Besides that, sleep apnea is directly associated with the development of obesity and heart failure in certain patients. The condition depicts the degree of oxygenation in the body and the lack of which often leads to risks of hypertension, stroke, and heart diseases.

Insomnia

This is a condition where an individual has a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, or a combination of both. Some people experience it over a shorter period while some individuals struggle with it in the long term.

Insomnia directly contributes to poor habits, which can contribute to poor heart health. Besides that, lack of quality sleep due to insomnia can increase the risks of hypertension and heart diseases in the patients too.

If you are at risk of either of the two sleeping disorders, getting medical help is advised. The lack of proper treatment might lead to further worsening of the conditions, leading to fatal risks down the road.

How can I get Better and Quality Sleep?

Simply knowing that you have poor sleeping patterns isn’t enough to correct the complications. Instead, you need to find ways to overcome the issue and focus on getting quality sleep to support your heart and overall health.

Some of the top tips for getting a good night’s sleep are:

• Curate and stick to a bedtime schedule and routine. Having a specific time to go to bed and waking up at the same time the next day sensitizes the body to do so every day, restoring the irregular sleeping cycle.
• Create a comfortable and restful environment when you are going to sleep. Sleeping in a room that’s too warm can prevent you from getting quality sleep through the night. Keep the room cool, dark, and quiet. Also, avoid being on any digital device 2 hours before your sleep.
• Keep a check on your diet before your bedtime. If you drink coffee or even tea before bed, chances are that the caffeine will make it difficult for you to get quality sleep.
• If you are someone who has a habit of taking daytime naps, we’d recommend limiting those as much as possible. Excessive napping can disrupt the regular sleeping patterns drastically as well.
• People with a sedentary lifestyle might have a poor sleeping pattern, which isn’t the case with individuals who indulge in regular physical activity. However, don’t exercise an hour before bedtime since that is counterproductive.
• Stress is also a trigger behind irregular sleeping patterns. So, ensure that you find constructive ways to manage your stress and prevent it as much as possible for overall good health.

FAQs

• Can Not Getting Enough Sleep Make Your Heart Beat Faster?

There are studies that indicate that people who don’t get enough sleep did have tachycardia or increased heart rate.

• Can Irregular Sleep Cause Heart Problems?

Irregular sleep enhances the risks of heart failure, heart diseases, heart attacks, and strokes in individuals.

• What Is the Best Position to Sleep in For Your Heart?

Sleeping on the right side, especially for patients with heart failure and heart disease is considered ideal.

Conclusion

Experiencing poor quality of sleep now and then is considered normal. However, things take a turn for the worse when that one-time occurrence becomes a habit and you aren’t getting the proper amount and quality of sleep as your body needs. Not only are you going to feel tired, but it can also manifest in several negative ways, affecting the heart and brain functions.

Poor sleep quality can be a sign of underlying stress, poor hormonal balance, and a few other chronic diseases. A comprehensive screening under a doctor’s prescription is thus crucial for a confirmed diagnosis. Don’t take the symptoms for granted, expecting them to get better on their own. Prioritize testing and necessary medical treatment.