Your Health

A Good Night Sleep!

Sleep is good for your Heart, here are some tips for a better Sleep and a Healthier You

Idon't think there is anyone who questions the fact that sleep is very important for our health and well being. The American Heart Association is saying that it is also the most important thing to our heart health. That said alone should be worth our attention to this matter, because heart disease kills more than any other cause of death.

There is a strong connection between sleep and a healthy heart. Sleep is an overall key to our health. Sleep joins diet, nicotine exposure, exercise, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure.

Most of the health experts recommend adults to get around seven to nine hours of sleep every night. This is with preferably few or no interruptions in your sleep.

Our bodies need the time to repair and reset itself every night and doctors say that without the right amount of sleep, our hearts will pay the price of not sleeping properly.

Research has shown that people who regularly get less than six hours sleep every night will triple their risk of heart disease. This concern is that it's not enough sleep spent in the deepest time of sleep, when the blood pressure and heart rate drops as much as 20 percent, this reduces stress on the heart.

Also, what happens is the brain releases growth hormones, which helps the heart recover from all the demands that we place on it during the day.

A cardiologist with the Sentara Healthcare, Dr. Deepak R. Talreja, said, "Sleep is very important to our heart health, but today more than half of adults in the United States don't get enough sleep; they are sleep deprived. It's more common now than any of the past generations. Dr. Talreja also said, "As our society has gotten busier and busier and we're all available 24/7 with devices that connect us all the time, most Americans don't get enough sleep."

He sees it all the time as it takes a toll. He said, "When someone is sleep deprived, it affects their overall functional status, their mental state; they tend to have more problems with depression, pessimism, anxiety. Then there are direct effects on inflammation, on heart rhythm issues, and on the presence of heart disease."

Dr. Talreja has told his patients that the best path to sleep better begins with the right environment.

The bedroom is better if it is dark, not cold, but cool, and quiet, although a white noise machine helps to cover up some of the environmental or outside noise.

Also, find what your best bed time is and try really hard to stick with it. He said, "Set an alarm to remind you, just like you have a wake up alarm, a go to sleep alarm can be very helpful."

Also it's best to stay away from all electronics long before bedtime and turn them off so that you can avoid interruptions during the night.

If you do wake up, stay off of the smartphone. He said, "We're tempted to pull out our smartphones, especially if we are having a hard time sleeping and look at things on Social Media, or do things, games, that adds light to our environment, and then revs us up instead of calming us."

Another way of helping us have a good night sleep is exercise. Dr. Talreja said, "That way, when it comes time for sleep, your body's ready for it. Someone who doesn't do anything physical during the day hasn't really worn out their body so they're not ready to sleep."

Begin eating a good diet by eating lots of fruit and vegetables, fish and poultry. Give up fast foods, pop, fried foods, all the junk food. A healthier diet will definitely help you sleep better.