Science says sleeping this amount extra per night cuts heart attack risk by 10% — doctors explain why

Sleep is vital to heart health and minimal increases in sleep duration can lower your risk of a cardiovascular event by 10%, new research suggests.

"Even modest improvements in sleep hygiene have yielded measurable benefits in blood pressure control, heart rate variability, and overall cardiovascular resilience," explains Dr. Daniel Cham, physician.

But here's the key — while isolated gains in sleep can help protect against stroke and heart attack, the biggest benefits might occur when you combine just 11 minutes more sleep with small, positive changes to activity levels and diet.

We asked the experts, Dr. Cham and Dr. John La Puma, why sleep plays such a strong role in heart health and how to tackle the moderate lifestyle changes that can have a big impact on your wellbeing.

Key take-aways: Study at a glance

• Increasing sleep by 11 minutes, combined with 4.5 minutes more exercise and 1/4 cup of vegetables a day, decreases your risk of a cardiovascular event by 10%, new research shows.
• These modest changes across different behaviors are typically more achievable than a big upheaval in one area.
• Good diet and exercise both contribute to better sleep, meaning changes in one area can boost another.
• Sleep duration isn't everything, however, as doctors cite benefit of sleep regularity and strong circadian rhythms.

How good sleep impacts your heart health

Sleep, particularly deep sleep, is when our body resets and repairs itself. And as Dr. Cham explains, missing out on this restorative phase leads to more than just excessive yawning the next day.

"Poor sleep quality can increase blood pressure, contribute to arrhythmias, and exacerbate metabolic stress," he says, "all of which elevate the risk for heart disease."

Dr. John La Puma, Board-Certified Internist and author of Indoor Epidemic, explains this is in part because your circadian rhythm acts at the "heart's time table."

This internal clock behind our sleep-wake cycle dictates hormone changes including melatonin suppression and cortisol release.

"Heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths peaking in the first three hours after waking, when stress hormones surge," he says.

A 2025 study found just three nights of poor sleep can increase your risk of heart disease, making long-term sleep deprivation a major health concern — and not just a risk for your heart.

"It contributes to insulin resistance, setting the stage for diabetes. It promotes inflammation throughout the body, accelerating aging and increasing cardiovascular risk," Dr. La Puma explains.

For this reason, he emphasizes the importance of sleep regularity; going to bed and waking up at the same time every night.

"A landmark study of over 60,000 adults followed for nearly 8 years found that sleep regularity was a stronger predictor of mortality than total hours slept," he says. "People with regular sleep schedules have a 34% lower risk of heart disease and a 19% lower risk of overall mortality."

Small changes can have noticeable results

The study analyzed the data of 53,242 people in the UK Biobank, assessing the impact of three core behaviors on cardiovascular health. Those behaviors are: sleep duration, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVGS), and diet quality (DQ).

Researchers found that small improvements in each behavior combined could have a more notable positive impact on heart health than big achievements in one area.

The study noted that just 11 minutes more sleep, when combined with increased exercise and a healthier diet, could have a similar impact to regularly achieving 30 minutes more sleep (assuming a low sleep rate in the first place.)

Even better, the researchers describe these habits as "uniquely interdependent." In other words, more exercise results in better sleep which leads to better eating (and vice versa.)

This is a mindset supported by Dr. La Puma, who explains that more sleep isn't always the answer.

"Fewer than seven hours [sleep] erodes resilience, while more than eight hours increases cardiovascular risk and accelerates cognitive decline by about 12 percent. The sweet spot for most adults is between seven and eight hours," he explains.

How to get 11 minutes more sleep a night

While the researchers behind the study are keen to emphasize small changes for overall improvement, tackling your sleep, physical activity and diet can seem like an overwhelming prospect.

So here's some good news: it's easy to target two birds with one stone.

Exercising for better sleep and healthy eating for better sleep allow you to focus on one habit (either movement or diet) while having a knock on effect on another (in this case, sleep.)

For Dr. La Puma, even small habit switches can improve circadian function and lead to better sleep and heart health..

"Morning light and evening darkness are the anchors of [circadian] rhythm. Protect them, and you protect the foundation of your longevity," he says, recommending amber lighting in the evening to help your body prepare for sleep.

He also suggests screen limits, advising you put your phone down at least 60 minutes before bed (and charging your phone in a different room, to eliminate temptation.)

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