Most adults need at least seven hours of sleep each night and more than 1/3 say they’re not getting it.
That lack of sleep doesn’t just leave you feeling fatigued, it can also be hard on your heart.
Sleep helps your body repair itself and recover from the strains of the day. Routinely shortchanging your sleep short circuits that system.
Studies find lack of sleep raises the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Doctor Gary Trock is a Beaumont Hospital neurologist and sleep specialist. He said there are numerous benefits to improving your sleep.
“Stamina, attention span, with mood, depression, maybe gaining weight, tending toward hypertension, all those things can be helped in many cases, by improved sleep, longer duration, better quality sleep,” he said.
Better sleep may also lead to a better diet, according to new research in the journal of the American Heart Association.
Nearly 500 women participated in the year-long study of sleep patterns and cardiovascular risk in women. Researchers found the less women slept the more they consumed added sugars, saturated fats and caffeine.
The same goes for participants’ quality of sleep. Less quality equaled more quantity of unhealthy foods.
Lack of sleep is thought to stimulate hunger and may also suppress hormones that signal when you’re full. The take home message: good quality sleep is very important for managing your weight and plays a critical role in potentially preventing heart disease too.
Problems like sleep apnea and insomnia are also linked to a higher risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. It’s very important to get treatment for those issues.
Likewise, if you’re getting seven or more hours of sleep but are still feeling fatigued, irritable, forgetful or foggy during the day, you may not be getting enough quality of sleep.
Talk to your doctor to see if there may be medical reason why.