A new statement from the American Heart Association says that getting healthy sleep is not just about sleeping for 7 to 9 hours a night.
There are many parts of sleep—like how long it takes to fall asleep, how rested you feel during the day, and how satisfied you are with your sleep—that all work together to protect your heart and overall health.
This statement was published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
According to experts, sleep affects things like blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and body weight. Poor sleep can raise the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, depression, and even cognitive decline.
Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge from Columbia University, who led the statement group, explains that we need to think about sleep as more than just hours. Many different factors make up “sleep health,” and each one can influence your physical and mental well-being.
Here are the key parts of sleep health:
Sleep duration is how many hours a person sleeps in a day. Less than 7 hours or more than 9 hours of sleep a night is linked to health risks like high blood pressure and stroke.
Sleep continuity refers to how smooth your sleep is—how long it takes to fall asleep, how often you wake up during the night, and how restful your sleep feels. Interrupted sleep can raise the risk of heart attack and other problems.
Sleep timing is the usual time you go to bed and wake up. People who sleep very late, like after midnight, may be more likely to gain weight and have high blood pressure or insulin resistance.
Sleep satisfaction is how good you feel about your sleep. Poor satisfaction is linked to stiff arteries, higher blood pressure, and heart disease.
Sleep regularity means keeping a steady sleep schedule every day. If you sleep much more or less on weekends than on weekdays, this “social jetlag” can raise your risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart problems.
Daytime functioning is how alert you feel during the day. Feeling very sleepy may be a sign of other health issues like depression or sleep apnea. Losing weight can sometimes help reduce this sleepiness.
Sleep architecture is the pattern of sleep stages, including deep sleep (non-REM) and dream sleep (REM). Interruptions in deep sleep can affect insulin and increase disease risk.
The statement also highlights that people’s sleep health can vary based on their environment and background. For example, people with lower incomes or from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups often face more sleep problems.
These include less sleep, poor sleep quality, and more sleep-related disorders. Black adults, in particular, tend to have the worst sleep health overall.
Doctors are encouraged to ask patients more specific questions about their sleep, like how long it takes to fall asleep or how tired they feel during the day. These conversations can help detect problems early and lead to better care.
While many people now use smartwatches to track how long they sleep, we still need better tools to measure the other parts of sleep health. More research is needed to confirm how improving sleep helps with heart and metabolic health.
Sleep is one of the key health measures in the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8.” Right now, the focus is mostly on sleep duration, but that may change as more research becomes available.
Finally, the statement calls for future studies that include people from many backgrounds and use teamwork from doctors in different fields—like sleep medicine, cardiology, neurology, and more—to better understand and treat sleep problems. Knowing more about how sleep affects the body and mind could help everyone live healthier, longer lives.
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