Sleep is good for our heart.
We know that sleep is important. Getting a good night’s sleep does wonders for our productivity, attention, appetite control, immune function, blood pressure, complexion, and mood. If that’s not enough reasons to get plenty of sleep, a recent study finds that healthy sleep patterns are good for our heart.
Our heart hearts sleep
A recently published study of more than 400,000 people suggests that healthy sleep patterns lowers the risk for certain irregular heart rhythms. The sleep habits of participants without a known history of abnormal heart rhythms were scored. These participants were then followed for about 11 years and observed for abnormal heart rhythms. Those people who had healthy sleep patterns were found to have lower risk of atrial fibrillation (or a very fast, irregular heartbeat) and lower risk of bradyarrhythmia (or a very slow, irregular heartbeat).
What is a healthy sleeping pattern?
A healthy sleeping pattern, as defined by the study includes:
Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day
Never or only sometimes having insomnia
Never or only sometimes having excessive daytime sleepiness
Never snoring
Self-described “morning person”
Don’t sleep on it. Go and get a good night’s sleep.
While healthy sleep patterns were not associated with decreased ventricular arrhythmias (or irregular heart beats arising from the lower chambers of the heart), good sleep habits are associated with lower risk of atrial fibrillation, or the most common abnormal heart rhythm. This finding adds to the mounting evidence that getting enough sleep is good for your health. But you don’t need a research paper to tell you that. Just listen to your heart.
Sources:
Li X et al. Healthy sleep patterns and risk of incident arrhythmias. J Am Coll Cardiol 2021 Sep 21; 78:1197.
https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/sleep.htm