Healthy Habits, - Healthy-Life

Brought to you by the Clark County Health Department. Your source for trusted information on various health, wellness, and safety topics!

By Katie Cook, BSN, RN

The Clark County Health Department is happy to promote health and wellness to our county residents. In this twice-monthly column, we hope to provide readers with reliable health information. This series will be on heart health, including what it is, protective factors against heart disease, and habits to keep us happy and healthy.

Sleep, who needs it? The truth is, everyone needs sleep! Most adults need seven hours of sleep each night at minimum in order for the body to reset itself and operate at full capacity the next day. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in three Americans say they do not get the recommended amount of sleep each night. These adults are more likely to have health problems such as heart attacks, asthma, and depression.

Now, if you have something going on where you are up late one night or two, and then get back into good sleep habits, you probably won’t notice any issues, but prolonged sleep deprivation can exacerbate existing medical problems or lead to new ones.

There are also some sleep conditions that can make other conditions worse or lead to increased risk of conditions. Sleep apnea is a condition where the airway gets blocked during sleep, causing you to stop breathing for short amounts of time. It can be caused by obesity and heart failure. People can present with snoring and fatigue as the first signs of sleep apnea. This condition increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.

Insomnia is the body’s inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get good sleep. As a result, people feel sleepy during the day, suffer brain fog, and may experience increased amounts of stress. Short-term insomnia can be caused by stress or life changes. Longterm insomnia is when you experience difficulty falling/staying asleep at least three nights a week for at least three months.

How do these sleep disorders affect heart health? According to the American Heart Association, there is evidence that insomnia increases levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol changes your body’s stress response, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, anxiety, and depression. Studies have also shown that shortened or disrupted sleep, like the symptoms of insomnia, can increase blood pressure and inflammation, which may raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. Additional research has shown a connection between short sleep and calcium buildup in the heart's arteries, which can also contribute to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

The infographic and below sleep tips are courtesy of the Sleep Foundation. Follow these tips to get the beauty sleep you deserve!

♥ Develop strategies for relaxation: If heart concerns spur anxiety, they can keep your mind racing when you just want to ease into sleep. Techniques like deep breathing, yoga, light stretching, mindfulness, and meditation are just a few beneficial approaches for people struggling to sleep with pericarditis (inflammation around the heart), heart disease, or other heart problems that cause chest pain.

♥ Plan a consistent sleep schedule: Keeping the same bedtime and wake-up time every day is widely considered to be one of the key ways to encourage healthy and stable sleep from night to night.

♥ Design an accommodating bedroom: Set up your sleep environment to meet your needs by ensuring the bedroom has a comfortable mattress and pillow, a pleasant temperature, and as much quiet and darkness as possible.

♥ Avoid negative influences on sleep: Alcohol and caffeine can interfere with sleep and are best avoided at night. Excessive use of electronic devices, including your cell phone, can also throw off your sleep patterns, which is why experts recommend not using these devices for an hour or more before bed.