Getting a Good Night’s Sleep Every Night Helps Heart

Dr. Andrea Klemes, Chief Medical Officer MDVIP
By Dr. Andrea Klemes , MDVIP
February 28, 2023
Irregular sleep patterns can damage your blood vessels.

Do you like sleeping in on the weekends? Many of us look forward to staying under the covers on our Saturdays and Sundays, especially after a late night or a long week. The extra shuteye helps us recover from missed sleep during the week.

Or so we think. Unfortunately, this kind of inconsistent sleep pattern has consequences for our health – from our relationships to our diet, and, perhaps most importantly, our heart. And trying to catch up on the weekends doesn’t seem to help.

According to a new study published in February, sleep irregularity and atherosclerosis are linked. Atherosclerosis is a condition where plaque — cholesterol, fats and other substances – build up along the arterial walls. This plaque can reduce the flow of oxygen to critical organs, ultimately leading to a heart attack or stroke.

How can your sleep patterns affect your arteries?

First, let’s discuss the benefits of good sleep habits. Our bodies remain busy, even while we sleep.

Throughout the night, our heart and respiration rates change. Our metabolism slows down, conserving energy. Blood pressure rises and falls. Hormones release to help repair cells and restore energy. The brain stores new information and rids itself of toxins. Even nerve cells get busy, talking to each other and reorganizing to support healthy brain functions.

These processes support many of the functions our bodies handle on a daily basis-- from helping repair muscles to supporting our emotional health. Good sleep also can improve insulin regulation and strengthen our immune system. It even supports weight management efforts.

If you’re not getting enough sleep — or if your sleep schedule is irregular —you’re depriving your body of these benefits and putting yourself at risk for all sorts of conditions, including metabolic disorders, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

The studies linking poor quality and irregular sleep to these conditions have been piling up for years. Consider one from 2019 on sleep and metabolism. In the study, researchers split a group of 36 people into three groups for a two-week experiment: the first group slept up to nine hours a night; the second was allowed only five hours of sleep; and the third slept five hours during the week but could sleep late on the weekends.

Participants in the second and third groups gained weight and had reduced insulin sensitivity, both risk factors for type 2 diabetes. That’s in just two weeks! Imagine the impact if they had kept up their poor sleep schedule.

So back to how this can affect our heart health. Earlier studies have tied poor sleep patterns to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, asthma and obesity, which all negatively impact the heart.

The new study didn’t look just at a lack of sleep but at irregular sleep, as well. Participants who had irregular sleep schedules were more likely to have a coronary artery calcium score above 300, which is associated with a higher risk of heart attack. They were also more likely to have an abnormal ankle-brachial index, which can indicate narrowing or blockage of blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your legs. Both indicate atherosclerosis.

How do you lower this risk? Start by getting more sleep and sleeping more regularly. Guidelines from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommend that you sleep at least seven hours a night if you’re 18 to 60. If you’re older, you may need seven to nine hours.

If you’re having trouble getting enough sleep, work with your MDVIP-affiliated physician. They know how important sleep is (the MDVIP Wellness Program contains a sleep screener as well as other tests that hone in on your atherosclerosis risk) and can help coach you. There are also tips on MDVIP.com that can help you get more sleep.

I like to sleep in on weekend mornings as much as the next person. Just don’t let those sleep-ins be a substitute for the sleep you should be getting every night.


Similar Posts
Can't Sleep? These Natural Remedies May Help You Get Some Shut Eye / Janet Tiberian, MA, MPH, CHES / May 16, 2016
4 Recent Studies Link Sleep to Heart Issues / Janet Tiberian, MA, MPH, CHES / August 16, 2019
Your Doctor Can Help You Control Heart Disease Risk Despite Your Genetics / Janet Tiberian, MA, MPH, CHES / January 18, 2019

About the Author
Dr. Andrea Klemes, Chief Medical Officer MDVIP
Dr. Andrea Klemes, MDVIP

Dr. Andrea Klemes is the Chief Medical Officer of MDVIP. She also serves as the executive and organizational leader of MDVIP’s Medical Advisory Board that supports quality and innovation in the delivery of the healthcare model drawing expertise from the affiliated physicians. Dr. Klemes oversees MDVIP’s impressive outcomes data and research including hospital utilization and readmission statistics, quality of disease management in the MDVIP network and the ability to identify high-risk patients and intervene early. She is instrumental in the adoption of the Electronic Health Record use in MDVIP-affiliated practices and the creation of the data warehouse. Dr. Klemes is board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology and a fellow of the American College of Endocrinology. Dr. Klemes received her medical degree from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed an internal medicine residency at Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan, New York and an Endocrine and Metabolism Fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Prior to joining MDVIP, Dr. Klemes worked at Procter & Gamble in the areas of personal healthcare, women’s health and digestive wellness and served as North American Medical Director for bone health. She spent 10 years in private practice specializing in endocrinology and metabolism in Tallahassee, Florida. In addition, Dr. Klemes held leadership roles with the American Medical Association, Florida Medical Association and as Medical Director of the Diabetes Center in Tallahassee and Panama City, Florida, as well as Chief of the Department of Medicine at Tallahassee Community Hospital. She has been a consultant and frequent lecturer and has completed broad clinical research in diabetes and osteoporosis and published extensively.

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