Getting enough good-quality sleep is important for a healthy heart and metabolism, according to a new statement from the American Heart Association (AHA).
The statement, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, explains that sleep is more than just how many hours you get each night—it includes several parts, such as how well you sleep, when you sleep, how you feel about your sleep, and how sleepy you are during the day.
The statement highlights that poor sleep can raise the risk for heart disease, stroke, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes.
It also affects your mental health, making issues like depression and memory loss worse. While most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, experts say that sleep health also depends on other factors.
Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, who led the AHA writing group, said, “We now know that sleep health is not just about hours. It’s about the full sleep experience.”
The AHA describes several key components of sleep:
Sleep duration is the total number of hours you sleep in a night. Less than 7 hours or more than 9 hours can increase the risk of heart problems.
Sleep continuity refers to how often your sleep is disturbed—such as waking up in the night or having trouble falling asleep. Poor sleep continuity is linked to higher risks of heart attacks and insulin resistance.
Sleep timing is about when you go to bed. Going to bed after midnight is linked to higher risks of obesity, high blood pressure, and poor blood sugar control.
Sleep satisfaction is how you personally rate your sleep. People who feel dissatisfied with their sleep are more likely to have high blood pressure or stiff arteries.
Sleep regularity means going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. People with irregular sleep schedules are at higher risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease—even if they sleep enough hours.
Daytime functioning refers to how awake and alert you feel during the day. Feeling tired or sleepy during the day is linked to poor heart health.
Sleep architecture is about the sleep stages your brain goes through, like light and deep sleep. Disrupting deep sleep may lead to worse blood sugar control.
The statement also pointed out that not everyone has the same sleep opportunities. People in low-income or unsafe neighborhoods may have trouble sleeping because of noise or poor air quality.
People from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups often have worse sleep, which may increase their risk for health problems. For example, Black adults tend to get less sleep and have more sleep disorders than other groups.
Dr. St-Onge said doctors should ask patients simple questions like how long it takes them to fall asleep or how tired they feel during the day. This information can help identify sleep problems and guide treatment.
More research is still needed. While sleep trackers and smartwatches help monitor sleep duration, better tools are needed to track sleep quality, timing, and satisfaction. Including sleep in heart health scores like Life’s Essential 8 is a good step, but right now, only sleep duration is included because there’s not enough strong research on the other parts.
The AHA calls for more studies that include people from different backgrounds and bring together experts from fields like heart health, sleep medicine, diabetes, and mental health. Better understanding sleep will help people live healthier lives.
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The study finds can be found in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
