The importance of getting enough sleep

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Researchers suggest people with consistently late bedtimes are more likely to have poorer heart health, including a greater risk of heart attack or stroke.

Doctors recommend keeping a consistent sleep schedule and avoiding screens late at night, and if you feel chest pain, they say don’t wait — get checked by a doctor.

Health experts also say that cholesterol, inflammation, all of that happens at night when you’re resting in particular. When you look at heart attacks, for example, that has a lot to do with vascular inflammation, and how you regulate that inflammation with good sleep is highly important.

Dr. Matthew Sousa with Norton Heart & Vascular Institute says, “We always like to think of sleep as getting some rest, but really sleep has a lot of important roles in regulating a lot of systems in your body. Not just getting mental rest, but regulation of your metabolism, inflammation, and a whole host of other things. It’s a very important part of your entire body.”

Sousa also says, sleep isn’t just rest — it plays a key role in regulating blood pressure, which is critical for your heart.