Heart Health and Sleep: Why Quality Rest Matters
Wellness & SelfcareHeart Health

Why Good Sleep Is Critical for Heart Health

Why Good Sleep Is Critical for Heart Health
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Updated on December 15, 2025
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Sleep is vital for heart health because it allows your cardiovascular system to rest and recover. In fact, it’s now listed as one of the American Heart Association’s eight essential habits for heart health.

“High-quality sleep is essential for heart health because it supports optimal blood pressure regulation, autonomic balance, and inflammation control, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular events,” says Megan Pelter, MD, associate program director of Loma Linda University Health’s Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship Program in California.

Older adults in particular are more likely to have health conditions or take medications that impact sleep, making it imperative that they address any sleep issues they’re experiencing to best manage their risk of heart disease.

Blood Pressure Dips Overnight

Blood pressure typically decreases by 10 to 20 percent during nighttime sleep, a phenomenon known as nocturnal dipping.

“This dip is beneficial for heart health because it allows the heart and vasculature to recover from daytime stress, reduce cardiac workload, and limit blood vessel wall stress,” says Joshua Liberman, MD, preventive cardiologist and chief medical officer of Wisconsin Cardiology Associates.

People with a nondipping pattern (less than 10 percent decline) or reverse dipping pattern (higher nighttime blood pressure than daytime blood pressure) have a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular events, including stroke and heart failure, says Dr. Liberman.

The Stress System Relaxes

During sleep, the body experiences a decline in sympathetic nervous system activity (including your fight-or-flight response) and an increase in parasympathetic nervous system activity (rest-and-digest processes). When the parasympathetic nervous system takes control during sleep, your heart doesn’t work as hard as it does when you’re awake, leading to a reduction in blood pressure, says Liberman.

“During the deeper stages of non-REM sleep, the body lowers its heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol,” says Yi Cai, MD, director of sleep surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. Elevated stress hormone levels, whether in the short term or long term, can cause damage to the heart and are associated with a variety of adverse heart health outcomes.

Inflammation Control

Sleep plays a key role in regulating inflammation as well, and controlling inflammation is critical for maintaining healthy heart function and reducing cardiovascular disease risk, says Liberman.

People with poor sleep patterns tend to have a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease, which research largely attributes to inflammation.

 In terms of sleep quantity, adults who typically sleep less than six hours each night appear to have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease-related mortality, partly due to inflammation.

“When sleep is cut short or disrupted, the body releases more inflammatory chemicals, which can damage blood vessels and make cholesterol plaques more likely to form or rupture,” says Dr. Cai. “Chronic inflammation is one of the key drivers of atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in arteries that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.”

Metabolism Regulation

Insufficient or poor-quality sleep also impairs the body’s glucose metabolism and increases insulin resistance, raising one’s risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, says Liberman. Poor sleep quality is associated with higher triglyceride and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels as well.

Inadequate sleep can also drive unhealthy behavioral changes, such as increased cravings for junk foods. “Poor sleep disrupts hormones that control hunger, leading to increased appetite, especially for high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods,” says Cai. “Over time, that can lead to weight gain, which adds strain on the heart.”

Sleep Disorders Are Dangerous

If you have a diagnosable sleep disorder, it’s especially important to address it, so that you can not only improve your sleep but also protect your heart health.

Lack of sleep isn’t just exhausting — it’s linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Fragmented sleep is associated with worsened health outcomes, regardless of the cause of the fragmentation,” says Liberman.

Insomnia

If you can’t function normally or don’t feel like yourself because you aren’t sleeping well or sleeping enough, you may have insomnia, which affects 10 percent of the world’s population.

Insomnia can include trouble falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, or waking too early in the morning. Family history, brain activity differences, certain medical conditions (like acid reflux), mental health conditions, habits and routines, and even life circumstances can all play a role in insomnia.

“Insomnia is linked to heightened sympathetic activity and inflammation, which may raise cardiovascular risk,” says Harneet Walia, MD, medical director of sleep medicine at Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida.

For people who have already experienced a heart attack or other coronary intervention, insomnia is associated with an increased risk of future cardiac events.

Your doctor can treat insomnia by helping you develop and practice good sleep habits, accessing your mental health, and prescribing medications that can help you fall asleep or stay asleep.

Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome is a condition in which you feel a very strong urge to move your legs, typically in the evening or at night. It can also be associated with nighttime leg twitching. There’s no known cause, but experts suspect it could be linked to an imbalance of dopamine, a brain chemical that helps control muscle movement.

“Restless legs syndrome can cause frequent arousals and sleep fragmentation, which may also increase cardiovascular risk, though evidence is limited,” says Dr. Walia.

Sometimes, restless legs syndrome runs in families, and pregnancy or other hormonal changes can increase symptoms as well. It also sometimes occurs alongside iron deficiency. Treatment typically involves treating associated conditions like iron deficiency or taking medications that regulate calcium channels or increase dopamine in the brain.

Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that involves repeated pauses in breathing throughout the night, leading to drops in oxygen and blood pressure spikes.

“These cycles increase inflammation, promote insulin resistance, and damage blood vessels,” says Cai. “Untreated OSA is linked to hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and stroke.”

Fortunately, sleep apnea treatment can help, reducing a person’s risk of experiencing major cardiovascular events up by to 31 percent and lowering their risk of cardiovascular-related death by up to 47 percent.

How to Improve Your Sleep

The first step toward getting better sleep — and improving your heart health as a result — is speaking with your doctor.

“Ask about sleep during each appointment, and investigate potential causes of fragmented sleep,” says Liberman. “Sleep health, including duration, quality, regularity, and absence of sleep disorders, needs to be a target for cardiovascular disease prevention and health promotion.”

In addition to addressing sleep with your healthcare provider, a number of other lifestyle factors and best practices can help improve your sleep:

  • Exercise during the day.
  • Only use your bed for sleep (and sex).
  • Keep distractions like televisions and smartphones out of the bedroom.
  • Maintain a dark, quiet, and cool environment.
  • Establish a relaxing ritual before bed, like drinking warm milk or taking a bath.
  • Avoid big meals two to three hours before bedtime.
  • Skip alcohol and caffeine before bed.
  • Manage your stress with deep breathing exercises.
  • Talk to your doctor about underlying conditions that may be affecting your sleep.

The Takeaway

  • Good quality sleep is essential for heart health, as it supports optimal blood pressure regulation, controls inflammation, regulates metabolism, and more.
  • During sleep, the heart benefits from a temporary drop in blood pressure (nocturnal dipping) and the relaxation of the sympathetic nervous system, which reduces cardiac workload, heart rate, and the production of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.
  • Poor sleep disrupts glucose metabolism, increases insulin resistance, and elevates inflammatory chemicals, all of which can damage blood vessels over time, lead to plaque formation, and raise one’s risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
  • Fragmented sleep and sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea significantly increase cardiovascular risks, which is why it’s so important to consult a doctor about any sleep issues you’re experiencing and adopt healthy lifestyle changes to improve your sleep quality.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
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  5. Why Is Sleep Important? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. March 24, 2022.
  6. Yes, Stress Can Hurt Your Heart: 3 Things to Know. Yale Medicine. November 20, 2025.
  7. Guo X et al. Sleep Patterns and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Investigating the Mediating Role of Inflammatory Markers in a Large NHANES Adult Population. Mediators of Inflammation. August 21, 2025.
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  9. Pintacom J et al. The Association Between Poor Sleep Quality and Lipid Levels Among Dyslipidemia Patients in Thailand: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study. Healthcare. March 20, 2025.
  10. Pan Y et al. The Association Between Sleep Deprivation and the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Meta‑Analysis. Biomedical Reports. September 12, 2023.
  11. Insomnia. Cleveland Clinic. February 13, 2023.
  12. Frøjd LA et al. Insomnia as a Predictor of Recurrent Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease. Sleep Advances. April 7, 2022.
  13. Restless Legs Syndrome. Mayo Clinic. February 25, 2025.
  14. Gao X et al. Treating Restless Legs Syndrome Was Associated With Low Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Cohort Study With 3.4 Years of Follow-Up. Journal of the American Heart Association. February 16, 2021.
  15. Sleep Apnea. Mayo Clinic. April 6, 2023.
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  17. 8 Secrets to a Good Night’s Sleep. Harvard Health Publishing. November 20, 2023.
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Abhinav Singh

Abhinav Singh, MD

Medical Reviewer

Abhinav Singh, MD, is a board-certified sleep medicine specialist and the medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center. He is also an associate clinical professor at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Indianapolis, where he developed and teaches a sleep medicine rotation.

Dr. Singh’s research and clinical practice focus on sleep disorders, including excessive daytime sleepiness, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, insomnia, and sleep education.

Singh is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Sleep Health (from the National Sleep Foundation) and the Journal of Sleep Disorders: Treatment and Care, and is coauthor of the book Sleep to Heal: 7 Simple Steps to Better Sleep. He has received several Top Doctor recognitions and is the sleep specialist for the Indiana Pacers NBA team.

He lives in the Indianapolis area and enjoys music production and racquet sports.

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Kelsey Kloss

Author

Kelsey Kloss is a health and wellness journalist with over a decade of experience. She started her career as an in-house editor for brands including Reader’s Digest, Elle Decor, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, Woman's Day, and Redbook, and her work has been featured in over 50 publications.

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