I’ve been a dietitian for nearly 20 years, so I’m fairly confident about most heart-health advice. Then I asked a cardiologist to name the worst habit for your heart—and their answer caught me off guard.
“One of the top things that people need to change to improve cholesterol, blood pressure and general health is their poor sleep patterns or habits,” says Jayne Morgan, M.D., cardiologist and vice president of medical affairs at Hello Heart. “Essentially any type of circadian disruption can alter lipid metabolism and blood pressure control.”
In fact, sleep is one of the health metrics in Life’s Essential 8—the key measures the American Heart Association has defined for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health. And research has shown that poor sleep doesn’t just affect cholesterol and…