3 Reasons Sleep Benefits Your Heart

Winston Churchill, Napoleon, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were all known to enjoy naps throughout the day. They likely knew what many of us so easily overlook: sleep improves alertness, mood and performance.

Yet only two-thirds of Americans get enough sleep to feel their best, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation. (Global data on sleep is not as easy to find, but I am confident people in other countries have similar issues to the U.S.) This sleep deficit is partially because sleep can seem like the easiest thing to sacrifice in our busy lives. Yet sleep can have a big impact on not only how you feel but also how your body functions. Getting plenty of shuteye has a profound impact on overall health—especially the heart. Here are three reasons why:

 1. Sleep activates the body’s repair mechanisms

Sleep is a time of restoration and repair. While you sleep, your body works to heal and repair your heart and blood vessels. Getting the recommended eight hours of sleep nightly gives your body the precious repair time it needs.

 2. Sleep allows your heart to “rest”

While your heart beats 24 hours a day, seven days a week, sleep is the time it slows down and “rests.” Heart rate declines during sleep, producing a natural drop in blood pressure. Lower blood pressure means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood throughout the 100,000 miles of blood vessels in your body.

 3. Sleep improves oxygenation

Sleep promotes oxygenation—a process that increases oxygen in all of the body’s systems—at a deep level. Your heart is responsible for circulating blood to all of the organs, tissues and cells. Since oxygen is necessary to keeping the heart—and entire body—well, this improved oxygenation is key in supporting heart health.

Sleep is just as important as eating a balanced diet and exercising. While every person is unique in how much sleep they need, a good general guideline is to get eight hours of quality sleep each and every night.

Do you get enough sleep each night? What helps you sleep better?

3 Heart-Healthy Ways to Reduce Stress

Around 60 percent of Americans have made it a goal to reduce stress. Those are encouraging statistics. Not only is stress emotionally challenging, but high stress levels can have an impact on the heart by impacting blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

That’s why it’s important to be intentional about finding ways to reduce stress levels. But that’s easier said than done, right? We live in a fast-paced society—and even if you’re not in work-obsessed America, chances are you have other stressors: relationships, family responsibilities, finances or health concerns.

If you’re looking to reduce your stress levels, here are three ways to do so:

1. Breathe deeply

Stress causes breathing to naturally become shallower and quicker. Even if you can’t remove whatever is making you feel stressed, simply breathing deeply can benefit the heart and entire body. Research has shown that what’s known as “pranayamic breathing”—manipulating breath movement—can result in heart health benefits: decreased oxygen consumption, decreased heart rate and decreased blood pressure.

I recommend breathing in through the nose, taking in as much air as you can, and then breathing out through the mouth, expelling as much air as possible. Do this for 10 minutes a day, if you can, but even 10 breaths can help.

2. Get outside

Living in an urban environment like I do makes it difficult to spend time in nature. But research published in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (EHPM) shows why it’s so important. The study was conducted in 24 forests across Japan, and research participants spent time “forest bathing,” or taking in the atmosphere of the forest. The researchers found that forest bathing promoted lower cortisol levels (the hormone related to stress), pulse rates and blood pressure levels, among other positive health effects.

Any time outside is beneficial, even if you don’t have a forest nearby. I enjoy walking my dogs in the morning—getting fresh air, seeing the trees and greenery, and just getting moving. Cycling is another way I spend ample time outside, and I get to enjoy views of the ocean, palm trees and other beautiful scenery outside. Just being outside helps me feel less stressed, and any amount of stress reduction supports heart health.

3. Move your body

Exercise is so central to my life that it’s hard to remember how I felt before I worked movement into my schedule. But I do know that I just feel better—and a lot of that likely has to do with exercise helping reduce my stress levels.

Exercise increases “feel-good” hormones called endorphins and can boost mood and reduce anxiety. Being active also gets you away from the things that are stressing you out—and, for some people, provides time to mentally work through problems. Plus, exercise increases overall health and heart function, two things anyone can benefit from.

You can’t control what happens in life, but you can control how you deal with it. Reducing stress levels can help make difficult situations easier to handle. And by keeping your stress levels in check, you’ll benefit your heart and body—and feel better in the process.