Do you know how important sleep is for your cardiovascular health? The American Heart Association (AHA) have updated their checklist for ideal heart and brain health to include sleep as one of its eight basic heart-healthy habits.
According to the AHA, getting a good night’s sleep can help reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. The AHA has put together a sleep checklist to help you get the most out of your slumber. Keep reading to learn more about what you can do to improve your cardiovascular health by getting enough sleep!
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The AHA checklist, Life’s Essential 8 cardiovascular health score, was recently updated to include a new guide to help assess diet. It now also considers exposure to secondhand smoke and vaping using non-HDL cholesterol instead of total cholesterol to measure blood lipids. It also expands the blood sugar measurements to include hemoglobin A1c (a key measure to assess Type 2 diabetes risk).
The American Heart Association has unveiled some worrying statistics in their 2022 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update. They believe approximately 121.5 million people in the U.S. have high blood pressure, 100 million have obesity, more than 28 million people have Type 2 diabetes, and only 1 in 4 adults reported achieving the physical activity and most people are not getting the recommended amount of exercise.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and globally. However, research shows that more than 80% of cardiovascular events may be prevented by a healthy lifestyle and managing known cardiovascular risk factors.
“The new metric of sleep duration reflects the latest research findings: sleep impacts overall health, and people who have healthier sleep patterns manage health factors such as weight, blood pressure or risk for Type 2 diabetes more effectively,” said American Heart Association President Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., FAHA. “In addition, advances in ways to measure sleep, such as with wearable devices, now offer people the ability to reliably and routinely monitor their sleep habits at home.”
The AHA found it was time to revisit each health component in their checklist after 12 years, 2,400 scientific papers on the topic, and new ways to measure cardiovascular health. With these guidelines, sleep is quickly becoming one of the most important heart-healthy topics. With more research available on the effects of sleep, it is now well documented how vital it is for heart and brain health. The ideal level of sleep is 7-9 hours daily for adults.
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“Life’s Essential 8 is a major step forward in our ability to identify when cardiovascular health can be preserved and when it is sub-optimal. It should energize efforts to improve cardiovascular health for all people and at every life stage,” Lloyd-Jones concluded.
Taking Care of Heart Health with Sleep
Sleep Sure Plus is designed to help promote optimal sleep and restfulness through various ingredients. One of the most important ingredients included in this unique formula is melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone essential for regulating the circadian rhythm (the body’s internal clock). Sleep Sure Plus also contains valerian, one of the best natural ingredients for promoting rest and relaxation. These two essential ingredients are joined by another 6, which all work together to provide a better sleep quality.
Keeping the heart strong and healthy is vital for enjoying a high quality of life as you age. Heart Rescue was designed to help support and promote cardiovascular health using a variety of ingredients, including omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10, magnesium, and hawthorn extract. This formula’s health benefits can help strengthen the heart muscle, support circulation, and help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Sarah began her interest in nutritional healing at an early age. After going through health problems and becoming frustrated with the conventional ways doctors wanted to treat her illness (which were not working), she took it upon herself to find alternative treatments. This led her to revolutionize her own diet to help her get healthier and tackle her health problems. She began treating her illness by living a more balanced lifestyle through healthy food choices, exercise and other alternative medicine such as meditation. This total positive lifestyle change led her to earn a diploma in Nutritional Therapy from Health Sciences Academy in London, England. Today, Sarah enjoys helping others by teaching healthy lifestyle changes through her personal consultations and with her regular contributions to the Doctors Health Press. Also, passionate about following her dreams in life, Sarah moved to France and lived in Paris for over 5 years where she earned a certification in beadwork and embroidery from Lesage (an atelier owned by Chanel). She then went on to be a familiar face sitting front row and reporting from Paris Fashion Week. Sarah continues to practice some of the cultural ways of life she learned while in Europe. They enjoy their food, and take the time to relax and enjoy many of life’s little moments. These are life lessons she is glad to have brought back home with her.
