- New research gives insight into how lack of sleep may affect your heart health.
- The study found that getting fewer than six hours of sleep a night was associated with a greater risk of hypertension.
- A cardiologist explains what this means for your heart.
Our bodies and brains rely on sleep to function, but we don’t always get our recommended seven-plus hours each night. Sometimes life gets in the way—and you might find yourself coming up short in the sleep department. But new research reveals that what seems like a harmless habit may affect your health more than you realize.
Meet the expert: Cheng-Han Chen, M.D., board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA
That’s the takeaway from a recent study published in Blood Pressure, in which researchers investigated the impact of sleep—or lack thereof—on heart health. The researchers analyzed 2008 survey data from over 15,000 participants aged 65 and older, who were asked to report how much sleep they got. Based on the self-reported data, the participants were categorized as having short sleep duration (less than six hours), long sleep duration (nine hours or more), or something in between (six to eight hours).
Of the 15,650 participants, 7,345 met the criteria for hypertension, or high blood pressure. After cross-referencing the sleep data with hypertension diagnoses, the researchers found that while long sleep duration had no significant association with hypertension, short sleep duration was linked to higher hypertension risk.
What does that actually mean for your sleep habits? Ahead, a cardiologist breaks it down.
Why are the findings significant?
While there are plenty of reasons we may strive to get enough sleep each night, heart health usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But the results of the study add to growing evidence that challenges us to consider the relationship between the two more closely.
“Sleep is not just about feeling rested,” explains Cheng-Han Chen, M.D., a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA. “It may also play a role in regulating blood pressure and other processes that affect the heart and blood vessels. In the future, sleep duration and sleep quality may be useful factors for doctors to consider when identifying people who may be at higher risk for developing high blood pressure.”
Understanding the factors that may increase our hypertension risk is key to better protecting our heart health and overall longevity. “Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide,” Dr. Chen points out. “Over time, high blood pressure can put extra strain on the heart and damage blood vessels, increasing the risk of problems such as heart attack and stroke. That’s why lifestyle habits that help prevent or control high blood pressure are also important for protecting your heart.”
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What does this mean for you?
If you tend to stay up late doomscrolling, this may be your sign to focus on getting more shuteye. More specifically, Dr. Chen recommends making high-quality sleep a priority. A night of fitful tossing and turning may be just as harmful as no sleep at all.
“Consistently getting adequate, restful sleep is an important part of an overall heart-healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Chen explains. “If someone regularly has trouble sleeping, wakes frequently during the night, or feels excessively tired during the day, it’s worth discussing those concerns with a healthcare professional.”
What else can you do to protect your heart health?
If getting good sleep is difficult for you, there are still other things you can do to protect your heart health and lower your hypertension risk. “Sleep is just one piece of the puzzle,” Dr. Chen explains. “Regular physical activity, eating a heart-healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco, and managing stress can all support cardiovascular health.”
If you’re making changes to your diet, Dr. Chen suggests focusing on getting more fiber-rich foods and lean sources of protein while limiting sodium, saturated fat, and highly processed foods. “It’s also important to be mindful of alcohol intake, since drinking too much can raise blood pressure and contribute to other cardiovascular risks,” he adds. “Taken together, these everyday habits can help lower the risk of hypertension and support a healthier heart over the long term.”
The bottom line
The findings add more evidence to bolster the already ongoing conversation about sleep and heart health, but there’s still more to consider. Dr. Chen points out that since the study was observational, it can show an association between shorter sleep duration and higher hypertension risk but can’t establish a cause-and-effect relationship.
And again, he emphasizes that there are plenty of other things that may have been influencing hypertension risk, like “underlying health conditions, stress, lifestyle habits, or other factors that weren’t directly measured in the study.” Still, there’s reason to believe that getting enough sleep could be helping your heart more than you think.
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