Even among medical professionals, it is widely believed that exercise reduces cardiovascular disease and stroke risk by lowering risk factors such as excess body weight, cholesterol, insulin, and fat mass.

But exercise may not change these risk factors for weeks or even months, and even when it does, the effects are often modest.

According to a new study, there is one more thing you can do right now to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by up to 70%.

New research presented at the ESC Congress 2022 indicates that nine out of ten people do not receive a good night’s sleep.

The study found that not getting enough sleep made the risk of heart disease and strokes higher. The authors estimated that if everyone slept well, seven out of ten of these cardiovascular diseases could be avoided.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Aboubakari Nambiema says that “the low prevalence of good sleepers was expected given our busy, 24/7 lives.” 

“The importance of sleep quality and quantity for heart health,” according to the lead author, “should be taught early in life when healthy behaviors become established. Minimizing night-time noise and stress at work can both help improve sleep.”

Previous research on sleep and heart disease has typically concentrated on one aspect of sleep, including sleep length or sleep apnea, which is when breathing repeatedly stops and starts while you’re asleep.

In addition, many earlier studies have only examined sleep at the beginning of the study. The five healthy sleep habits were combined into a score for the current study. The relationship between the initial sleep score, changes in the sleep score over time, and cardiovascular disease incidence were examined by the researchers.

This study comprised 7,200 participants from the Paris Prospective Study III (PPP3), a prospective cohort based on community observation.

A preventative medical center recruited males and females between the ages of 50 and 75 who were healthy of cardiovascular disease between 2008 and 2011.

62% of the population was male, with a 59.7 average age. A physical examination and questionnaires about lifestyle, personal and family medical history, and medical issues were given to participants.

At the baseline visit and the two follow-up visits, questionnaires were used to gather information on five different sleep behaviors. Each factor received a score of 1 if it was optimal and 0 if not. A healthy sleep score of 0 to 5 was calculated, with 0 or 1 being bad and 5 being excellent.

Those with the highest scores reported sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night, rarely or never having insomnia, no frequent excessive daytime drowsiness, no sleep apnea, and an early chronotype (being a morning person).

For a total of 10 years, the researchers examined participants for incident coronary heart disease and stroke every two years.

At the outset, 8% of participants had a bad sleep score, whereas 10% had an ideal sleep score. In the course of a median eight-year follow-up, 274 patients experienced a stroke or coronary heart disease.

After correcting for age, sex, alcohol intake, occupation, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, cholesterol level, diabetes, and family history of heart attack, stroke, or sudden cardiac death, the researchers examined the relationship between sleep scores and cardiovascular events.

They discovered that for every increase in the baseline sleep score of 1 point, the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke dropped by 22%. More specifically, people with a score of 5 were 75% less likely to get heart disease or a stroke than those with a score of 0 or 1.

The researchers calculated the percentage of cardiovascular events that may be averted with improved sleep. They found that 72% of new cases of coronary heart disease and stroke could be avoided each year if everyone got the right amount of sleep.

During the two follow-ups, almost half of the participants’ sleep scores changed. In 25% of the cases, the score went down, and in 23% of the cases, it went up. The researchers discovered that a one-point increase in score over time was associated with a seven percent reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.

The results show “the potential for sleeping well to preserve heart health” and suggest “that improving sleep is linked with lower risks of coronary heart disease and stroke. We also found that the vast majority of people have sleep difficulties,” adds Dr. Nambiema.

“Given that cardiovascular disease is the top cause of death worldwide, greater awareness is needed on the importance of good sleep for maintaining a healthy heart.”

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