For better or worse, our habits are second nature. At bedtime, the ability to slip into a habit without thinking can be helpful—like with brushing your teeth and washing your face, for example. But cardiologists want people to be aware of which nighttime habits are harming their health, too.
"Our nighttime habits play a big role in how well we fall asleep and stay asleep, through affecting our body's natural circadian clock," Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, tells Parade. "Factors such as screen time and light exposure, specific foods such as caffeine and alcohol and timing of exercise, all will affect the amount and quality of our sleep."
Cardiologists share that people often don't think enough about the importance of sleep for heart health, instead focusing on diet and exercise (which are also vital).
"During sleep, the body rests and repairs the cardiovascular system through lowering blood pressure, reducing stress hormones and inflammation and repairing blood vessels," Dr. Chen says. "We know that poor sleep will increase many cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes."
If you're not getting the sleep your heart (and the rest of your body) needs, it's time for a routine audit. Cardiologists warn that this common nighttime habit might be weakening the heart. They also shared tips for creating a bedtime routine that helps you improve your heart health while you sleep.
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This Common Nighttime Habit Might Be Weakening Your Heart, Cardiologists Say
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Cardiologists warn against sleeping with the TV on, saying it can weaken heart health.
"Sleeping with the TV on can interfere with both falling and staying asleep," explains Dr. Nadim Geloo, MD, a cardiologist and the senior director of medical affairs for Abbott’s structural heart division. "While the TV might initially offer a sense of comfort or background noise, it can actively counteract your body's intricate biological mechanisms designed for optimal sleep, ultimately undermining the quality and restorative power of your rest."
While we often associate phones and tablets with blue light, but TVs emit it, too, especially LCD and LED models.
"The blue light from television causes shifts in the circadian rhythm in the brain," explains Dr. Padma Shenoy, MD, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and a labfinder.com contributor. "Circadian rhythm is the body's internal clock, which tells us when to fall asleep and when to wake up."
Dr. Geloo adds that when our eyes take in blue light, our bodies begin to suppress the natural sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin. "When melatonin levels are suppressed, your brain mistakenly perceives it as daytime, making it significantly more challenging to feel drowsy and initiate sleep," he says.
Plus, what you watch on TV matters. Bedtime likely is not the time to watch a horror flick or the news, which you can argue are the same thing these days.
"Watching scary or stressful programs on TV right before going to bed could affect the heart by increasing stress hormones such as adrenaline, which can then increase blood pressure and heart rate," Dr. Chen says. "This response will make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep."
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Speaking of staying asleep, Dr. Geloo says that the changing sounds, volume and dialogue on the TV can keep your brain actively engaged even if you're snoozing.
"It [makes] difficult for your mind to disengage and relax when it's constantly attempting to process a stream of information, even at a subconscious level," he reveals. "This leads to more fragmented, less restorative sleep overall."
Dr. Geloo says you'll spend more time in lighter sleep stages and less time in the critical deep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stages that your body needs for physical restoration, cognitive repair and memory consolidation.
Your best bet is to remember to shut the TV off before hitting the hay. "Turn off the TV at least 60 minutes before bed to allow your circadian timing to kick in and promote the most restful sleep," Dr. Shenoy advises. "One hour of no screens before bed allows levels of melatonin, the sleep hormone, to rise so that you can transition into restorative sleep."
Related: This Is the Most Common Time of Day To Have a Heart Attack, According to Cardiologists
Sleep is an underrated yet critical piece of the heart-health puzzle, as research consistently shows. Poor sleep is linked to a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and events, including heart failure. Here's what happens to the heart while you sleep well.
Your blood pressure decreases. When you're in deep, restorative sleep, Dr. Geloo says your blood pressure naturally decreases, an essential process for cardiovascular recovery. Less sleep, lower quality sleep and disturbed sleep can cause consistently elevated blood pressure—even as you rest throughout the night—which strains the heart and blood vessels. Your hormones destabilize. Dr. Geloo says that quality sleep can help stabilize hormones that affect heart health, including cortisol (the stress hormone) and ghrelin and leptin (important for appetite regulation). "When these hormones are out of sync due to poor sleep, it can lead to chronic inflammation, unwanted weight gain and insulin resistance, which are all risk factors for heart disease."You destress. "A consistently good night's rest also lowers psychological stress, which directly impacts your cardiovascular system," Dr. Geloo says, noting that you can credit less stress to a calmer and happier life—and a healthier heart.Related: We Asked 3 Cardiologists About the Best Breakfast for Heart Health and They All Said the Same Thing
A 3-Step, Heart-Healthy Bedtime Routine
Your bedtime routines can help support better sleep and heart health. Watching TV while you sleep doesn't make the cut in cardiologists' routines (at least not the ones Parade spoke to). Here's what they recommend you do instead to build a heart-friendly bedtime routine.
Establish a consistent schedule. Dr. Geloo says going to bed and waking up at the same time daily (yes, including weekends) can help regulate your circadian rhythm. As a result, he says you'll significantly improve your quality of rest and lower inflammation and stress hormone production that can weaken the heart over time. You'll also support stable blood pressure.Create a no-screens relaxation ritual. Instead of tube time, Dr. Shenoy suggests meditation, deep breathing, reading a book or journaling in the hour before bed. It can calm your nervous system and switch your brain to the 'rest-and-restore' parasympathetic mode that will optimize your sleep quality."Forget the nightcap. Dr. Chen suggests avoiding alcohol before bed. While it's a sedative, he and research point out that it can disrupt your sleep quality.Up Next:
Related: The Morning Habit People Over 50 Should Break Immediately, According to Cardiologists
Sources:
The Digital Distress of Blue Light and Its Effect on Your Eyes. Cleveland Clinic.Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical CenterDr. Padma Shenoy, MD, a cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology and a labfinder.com contributorDr. Nadim Geloo, MD, a cardiologist and the senior director of medical affairs for Abbott’s structural heart divisionThe impact of sleep health on cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the general population. Nature.The association between sleep deprivation and arterial pressure variations: a systematic literature review. Sleep Medicine X.Hence then, the article about cardiologists say this common nighttime habit might be weakening your heart was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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