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.