Sleeping enough can really make or break your day.
 |  | By Paola de Varona, News Editor | | | Sleeping enough can really make or break your day. But, did you know getting those eight hours of shut-eye may even protect your heart health? | | | Today's Top Story | | Can Sleep Counteract Your Unhealthy Habits? |  | For years, we've known that certain habits like smoking and living a sedentary lifestyle can lead to heart problems. But new research suggests that even if you're not following optimal heart health rules, proper sleep may counteract some of these negative effects.
The researchers assigned each study participant a lifestyle score based on four factors: | | • | Smoking | | • | Alcohol consumption | | • | Physical activity | | • | Diet | | | Why is this the case? "Poor sleep can have an additional inflammatory impact on blood vessels," Paul Natterson, MD, a cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in California, said. But the opposite can also be true. If you get more sleep, you lower your likelihood of having an inflammatory impact on your blood vessels. | | Know More | | Why is this the case? "Poor sleep can have an additional inflammatory impact on blood vessels," said Paul Natterson, MD, a cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in California, said. But the opposite can also be true. If you get more sleep, you lower your likelihood of having an inflammatory impact on your blood vessels. | | Feel Better | | The National Sleep Foundation breaks up sleep recommendations by age. So if you're between the ages of 18 and 64, you need seven to nine hours of sleep. For adults over 65, seven to eight is recommended. But remember, it's not enough to just get enough sleep. Exercise and a nutritious diet are crucial for your heart health, too. | | |  | | In 2014, over 30% of adults reported sleeping fewer than seven hours a night. |  |  | | NCAA COVID Restrictions Actually Worked | | At the beginning of the pandemic, many people worried that playing and competing in sports would lead to more COVID cases. But a new study showed that for NCAA athletes, that wasn't the case. Researchers found that participation in collegiate sports was not tied to higher COVID-19 test positivity in the 2020-21 academic year. Experts say it's tied to the strict mitigation measures schools employed like weekly testing and mask-wearing. | | | | Should You Save the Second COVID Test in Your Kit? | | Most at-home COVID-19 testing kits include two separate tests. So can you save the second test for a later date? It depends. If you're just testing before an event, using one test should suffice. But if you've recently been exposed, taking the two tests several days apart will help increase the accuracy of your results. | | | | | |  | | It's important to remember that getting enough sleep alone can't protect you from heart disease. In an interview with Verywell, Paul Natterson, MD, a cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in California, emphasizes that other factors matter, too. |  | | While a good night's sleep may help you be a little better off than if you had poor sleep habits, you're not entirely counteracting the impact of an unhealthy lifestyle. It's best to try to sleep well and follow healthy lifestyle habits for your heart health. | |  |  | Paul Natterson, MD
Cardiologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center in California
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