How Sleep Protects Your Heart (+4 Tips to Get More of It!)
Is there a link between sleep and heart attacks?
The research says yes. Discover the sleep and heart health connection, plus 4 actionable tips to protect both.
Did you know there’s a 24% increase in heart attacks the first few days after losing an hour of sleep with the Daylight Savings in March? Similarly, heart attacks seem to drop 21% the first few days after Daylight Savings ends in November, when we all regain an hour.1
Decades of science have found sleep and heart health to be deeply intertwined, with as little as one hour of sleep loss impacting our cardiovascular systems. For instance, people experiencing insomnia face a 45% higher risk of cardiovascular disease versus those sleeping ~7-8 hours. Sleep problems are also linked with high blood pressure — a key player in heart disease.2
But the good news is this sleep-heart connection works both ways! Getting enough high quality sleep can act like a superpower, helping lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and prevent arterial plaque buildup.
Keep reading for a deep dive in how sleep issues affect your heart, the connection between sleep and blood pressure, and 4 tips to support both your sleep and heart.
‘Sleep mode’ isn’t the same as ‘off mode’
When you drift off at night, your brain doesn't just ‘turn off’ all functions like when you power down your laptop. Instead, it shifts into another gear with a new, sleep-oriented symphony of neural firing, hormone releases, and body-wide adjustments. Your heart rate slows. Blood pressure drops. Stress hormones take a break. Your body gets busy consolidating memories, repairing tissues, and replenishing cellular energy for the coming day.
The problem? Many factors make it hard for our brains to shift into this ‘sleep mode.’ Chronic stress or health conditions can throw off your body's internal clock, seemingly insignificant habits (like irregular schedules, not drinking enough water, or too much screen time) can confuse internal sleep-wake systems, and sleep disorders develop seemingly out of nowhere.
If this sounds like you, you’re far from alone. An estimated 50-70 million Americans have a chronic or ongoing sleep disorder. This is not a "you" problem.
→ What happens to your heart while you sleep
The moment you fall asleep, your cardiovascular system begins its nightly reset. As you move through each 90-minute sleep cycle, that restoration deepens. This is partially why getting less than 7 hours of sleep can cost your heart health big. 7-8 hours of sleep supports 4-6 sleep cycles per night — the ideal for overnight recovery.
Each sleep cycle builds off the last, compounding the benefits to give your heart the recovery support it needs to handle tomorrow’s next ~100,000 heartbeats. Think of it like the health bar in a video game that refills to give you new life in the game, if given enough time.
→ Your heart on a good night’s sleep
Does sleep lower blood pressure? Yes! But that’s just the beginning. Here’s a quick overview of the key ways sleep benefits your cardiovascular system:
-
Heart rate slows by 20-30% during sleep (from 60-100 beats per minute down to 40-60 bpm), giving the heart time to rest and repair.3
-
Blood pressure decreases by 10-20%, giving blood vessels and the cardiovascular system critical time to recover.4 (This phenomenon is called "nocturnal dipping.”)
-
Helps the nervous system shift into rest and relax mode, quieting stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and reducing inflammation throughout the body.
-
Prevents chronic inflammation that can contribute to high cholesterol and heart disease.
-
Provides critical time for cleaning calcium build-up in coronary arteries, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis (arterial plaque build-up).
→ What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?
Can lack of sleep cause high blood pressure? The research suggests yes. Here’s a quick overview of the top ways insufficient sleep impacts your cardiovascular system:
-
Blood pressure stays elevated through the night, forcing your cardiovascular system to work overtime and increasing heart attack risk by 20% in people sleeping <6 hours.5
-
Inconsistent sleep patterns disrupt your body's circadian rhythm, preventing a predictable rest-and-recovery cycle and interrupting nightly repairs.
-
The nervous system stays stuck in "fight or flight" mode. This keeps blood vessels constricted, which increases blood pressure and strains the heart over time.
-
Stress hormones (cortisol, norepinephrine) stay elevated, contributing to a 2.3-fold greater risk of acute myocardial infarction in people sleeping ≤5 hours versus 6-8 hours.5
With lack of sleep, heart palpitations and irregular rhythms become more common thanks to elevated stress hormones that disrupt the heart's electrical system. A recent UCSF study found that a bad night’s sleep increased atrial fibrillation risk by 15%.6
→ “Can sleep apnea cause high blood pressure?”
Yes — sleep apnea can cause repeated drops in oxygen levels and breathing interruptions, forcing the cardiovascular system to work harder overnight and increasing risk of coronary heart disease.7
Better Sleep, Healthier Heart
4 tips that do both
The good news? Many of the same habits that support better sleep also protect your heart. Here are four simple ways to strengthen both:
① Stick to a consistent sleep schedule
Your body loves predictability. So when you go to bed and wake up at the same time (yes, even weekends), it helps your cardiovascular system settle into a natural rhythm of rest and recovery. Regular sleep patterns have been shown to reduce heart disease risk compared to irregular schedules.
② Get moving (but time it right)
Studies show just 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity can boost deep sleep while also supporting your heart. Try physical activities like walking, swimming, cycling, or jogging. Just aim to finish at least 3 hours before bed to give your body time to wind down.8
③ Manage stress before it manages you
Journaling, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and even gratitude exercises can help the nervous system shift out of fight-or-flight and back into rest-and-relax mode. Even a brief change of scenery like a 10-minute walk outside can help downregulate your nervous system.
④ Worried your sleep could be affecting your heart health?
If you're experiencing symptoms like persistent fatigue, irregular heartbeats, or difficulty sleeping, consider talking to your healthcare provider about whether a sleep study or other evaluation might be right for you. Here’s a quick guide by the American Heart Association to help navigate discussions with your doctor.
Your heart's favorite new habit
Make sleep your superpower
Fall asleep 2x faster, reduce wake-ups 33%, and give your deep, restorative sleep the boost your heart needs — all in just 15 minutes before bed.
