Scientists Have Identified A Simple Way To Maintain Heart Health

A few extra minutes of rest might be helpful.

Even relatively modest changes in sleep, physical activity, and diet can still have a significant impact on heart health. An extra 11 minutes of sleep can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 10 percent.

But this headline is misleading, writes BBC Science Focus. A recent study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology examined the effects of a combination of more sleep, increased physical activity, and better nutrition.

To achieve that 10 percent risk reduction through sleep alone, the study showed that you would actually need about half an hour of extra sleep each night. Furthermore, this 10 percent does not mean that your personal risk of a heart attack is reduced by 10 percent.

The study included 53,000 participants who were followed for eight years, during which time just over 2,000 cardiovascular “events” were recorded. That’s 3.8 percent of the study participants.

If all of them had gotten extra sleep to achieve this 10-percent reduction, the rate would have dropped to just 3.4 percent of the study participants.

Nevertheless, the overall message remains true: a good night’s sleep is an important factor for heart health. One reason for this is that your blood pressure normally drops at night due to lower cortisol levels.

Lack of sleep prevents blood pressure from dropping as much as it should. This puts additional strain on the blood vessels, which, in turn, leads to hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Waking up before your body is ready also triggers a morning surge of stress hormones that affect the nervous system.

A study conducted in the U.S. in 2014 found that the number of heart attacks increases by 25 percent on Monday mornings after the clocks are set forward, when we lose an hour of sleep. Hitting the “snooze” button won’t necessarily save your life, but over time it can help you live longer.

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