We’ve all been there. It’s 2 a.m. and you’re sticky and flustered, your legs twisted between the sheets. You only have a few hours left to wake up and get ready for the day, and now you’re wide awake, your brain refusing to quiet down and go back to sleep.

It’s common to have sleepless and anxious nights. However, if you consistently miss out on the critical seven or so hours of sleep, you increase your risk of developing a variety of mental and physical conditions and symptoms, including high blood pressure and other conditions that affect heart health.

This may seem like common sense, but it’s not necessarily old news. It wasn’t until summer 2022 that the American Heart Association added sleep time to its list of eight things people should do in life to improve cardiovascular health (a collective term that describes the function of the heart and blood vessels). It was from.

The good thing about sleep is that there are many ways to improve it. Continually poor sleep hygiene makes you more susceptible to illness, but the effects of sleep deprivation are usually cumulative, so you can establish new habits to improve your sleep that work for you.

Here’s a breakdown of how sleep deprivation affects your heart health and what you can do about it.

Lack of sleep raises blood pressure (and stress levels)

Not getting enough sleep can cause your blood pressure to rise over time. One reason, explained Dr. Francisco López Jiménez of the Mayo Clinic, is that sleep helps the body regulate the hormones it needs to manage stress and metabolism.

Lack of sleep can increase levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. Too much of this over a long period of time can increase blood pressure and lead to heart disease, the number one cause of death in the United States.

This can be a chicken-and-egg scenario for people who suffer from insomnia or whose heart starts racing when they know the alarm is going to go off in a few hours. You may be feeling stressed about your sleep because you aren’t getting enough sleep. Therefore, acute stress can snowball into a long-term stress situation.

If you’re looking for ways to get better sleep, check out CNET’s sleep experts’ list of top sleep tips.

Over time, your risk of having a heart attack or stroke may increase

Lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure, which impairs cardiovascular health, so it’s no surprise that sleep deprivation is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart attack.

A 2023 study found a link between insomnia and sleeping less than five hours and an increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Additionally, certain sleep-related medical conditions, such as sleep apnea and insomnia, can compromise heart health over time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fatigue can lead to other harmful (but irreversible) habits

Not getting enough sleep before training the next day This can affect your ability to exercise as it feels difficult, probably more painful and less enjoyable overall. If you feel too tired to exercise, exercise less often. If your body needs rest, there’s no need to force yourself to exercise. But over time, a lack of physical activity due to sleep deprivation (or anything else) can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.

In fact, regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your heart health. It doesn’t have to be full-fledged training every time. Physical activity not only lowers blood pressure, but also helps manage cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and other factors that improve heart health.

Lack of sleep also affects your body’s hormones, which can affect your appetite.

As registered dietitian Rebecca Stetzer explained in a post for Gundersen Health System, after a lack of sleep, the hormones that regulate hunger are disrupted, causing you to eat foods high in sugar, fat, and sodium more often than usual. There is a possibility that you will want to eat it. This means you may be feeling extremely fatigued and looking for the quickest, and often sweetest, option to give you the energy you need.

Lack of exercise, diets that are too high in sugar and sodium, etc. Other nutrients needed by our body May increase risk of cardiovascular disease.

Overall, getting enough sleep is part of heart health, which is extremely important.In addition to your level of physical activity, the amount of nutrients you consume, lifestyle factors such as smoking, and whether you are able to check in to occasionally see a doctorsleep indicates heart health.

Daily routines such as diet and exercise are not permanent. You can change it to your liking at any time. And fortunately, there are simple habits you can start incorporating into your daily life to lower your risk of heart disease.here are some More tips to improve your sleep and What you need to know about heart disease screening.