Heart health probably isn’t something you gave much thought to when you were younger, but if you’re 60 or older, it’s probably something you’ve started to prioritize. If not, you should start. The risks of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke all increase with age. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death for adults over 60, making prevention and early intervention more important than ever. While many people assume that heart problems are inevitable with aging, research shows that lifestyle choices can significantly influence outcomes, even later in life.
Age is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease that is exacerbated by other risk factors, including genetics, gender, frailty level, and obesity. This is because blood vessels stiffen and narrow over time. The heart muscle also becomes thicker and less efficient. These structural changes can make it harder for the heart to pump blood efficiently, increasing blood pressure and stress on the cardiovascular system.
Over time, this added strain can contribute to fatigue, shortness of breath, and reduced exercise tolerance, even during everyday activities.
While there is no way to prevent aging, your biological age is not necessarily your chronological age. Biological age reflects the condition of your cells and tissues and how your body ages at the cellular level. Depending on your diet and lifestyle, your biological age can be either younger or older than your chronological age.
There’s a common habit that doctors say ages the heart even faster than smoking. Here’s what you need to know.
Related: Don’t order this at a restaurant if you want to protect your heart, cardiologists warn
The habit that ages heart health faster than smoking, according to cardiologists
kieferpix/Getty Images (kieferpix/Getty Images)
When most people think of habits that support heart health, they think of habits like regular exercise, a nutrient-dense diet, and not smoking. While these are certainly all habits that greatly support heart health, there is one common habit that many people don’t realize is aging their heart prematurely: not getting enough sleep.
Dr. Beverly J. Fang, MD, a psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist at the University of Maryland Medical Center and a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, says chronic sleep deprivation is linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, a key way that not getting enough sleep ages the heart. “The risk is higher with shorter sleep durations, less than five hours a night. Some studies suggest that this relationship may be particularly pronounced in women,” she explains.
🩺SIGN UP for tips to keep you healthy and fit with top moves, clean eating, health trends and more, delivered straight to your inbox twice a week💊
Why is this happening? According to Dr. Fang, when we don’t get enough sleep, the systems that help regulate blood pressure are disrupted. “Sleep restriction increases activation of the sympathetic nervous system — the body’s ‘fight, flight, freeze’ response — which increases heart rate and blood pressure,” she says, adding that at the same time, not getting enough sleep increases cortisol levels. Together, this can lead to higher blood pressure over time because it prevents the natural drops in blood pressure that occur during sleep.
Dr. Jack Wolfson, DO, FACCa cardiologist and founder of Natural Heart Doctor, says that another way that lack of sleep increases blood pressure is that endothelial function (work done by the endothelium, which is the thin layer of cells that lines blood vessels) decreases with poor sleep. “Blood vessels lose their ability to produce nitric oxide, making them stiffer and less able to relax. Over time, poor quality and quantity of sleep significantly increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure,” he explains.
Related: 7 Foods Cardiologists Always Eat for Heart Health
Both doctors say chronic sleep deprivation causes inflammation, which is also bad for cardiovascular health. Dr. Wolfson says Parade that even short-term sleep loss increases inflammation, so when it happens for years, the impact is particularly damaging. He explains that chronic sleep loss damages blood vessels, accelerates plaque formation and increases arterial stiffness.
“It also destabilizes the existing plaque, increasing the risk of sudden plaque rupture, which is the most common trigger of heart attacks,” he says. On top of all that, he explains, not getting enough sleep also worsens insulin resistance.
According to Dr. Fang, not getting enough sleep completely messes up the circadian rhythm, which is the body’s internal clock. And this prematurely ages the heart. Dr. Fang explains that when the body’s internal clock is disrupted, it leads to abnormal blood pressure patterns and metabolic dysregulation.
Related: We Asked 3 Cardiologists About Their 5-Minute Habit For Heart Health, And They All Had The Same Answer
As you can see, there are a lot of ways that not getting enough sleep affects the cardiovascular system. Because of this, Dr. Wolfson says that chronically not getting enough sleep ages the heart even faster than smoking.
“Smoking is a powerful cardiovascular toxin, but chronic sleep deprivation is a whole-body disruptor. Poor sleep causes constant sympathetic activation, chronic inflammation, hormonal imbalance, metabolic dysfunction, impaired vascular repair, and accelerated biological aging—all at once,” he explains.
The link between lack of sleep and weight gain
There’s another way that not getting enough sleep can have a negative impact on heart health: It increases the risk of obesity, and obesity is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Both doctors explain that not getting enough sleep alters key hormones that regulate appetite by increasing ghrelin, a hormone produced in the stomach that stimulates hunger, and decreasing leptin, a hormone released by fat cells that signals satiety.
In addition, Dr. Fang says that not getting enough sleep can also affect the brain’s endocannabinoid system, which can then increase cravings for high-carb and high-fat foods. “Furthermore, sleep deprivation is associated with reduced insulin sensitivity and impaired blood glucose regulation, increasing the risk of developing diabetes or worsening diabetes control,” she says.
When you’re tired, Dr. Wolfson points out, it’s even harder to have the motivation and energy to be active, another way a lack of sleep can increase your risk of obesity.
Because all the ways that not getting enough sleep affects heart health, it’s vital to get enough sleep consistently. To best support your circadian rhythm (and, in turn, your cardiovascular system), Dr. Wolfson says to go to bed after dark and rise with the sun. He adds that not using technology at night and getting sun during the day also support the circadian rhythm.
The importance of getting enough sleep cannot be overemphasized. If you have trouble sleeping, make it your goal to get to the root of your sleep problems this year. Your heart depends on it!
Next:
Related: This is the worst type of meat for heart health, according to a cardiologist
Sources:
-
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death as key health risk factors continue to rise. American Heart Association.
-
Noto, S. (2023). Perspectives on aging and quality of life. Healthcare (Basel), 11(15), 2131.
-
Dr. Beverly J. Fang, MD, psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist at the University of Maryland Medical Center and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and medicine at the University of Maryland.
-
Dr. Jack Wolfson, DO, FACC, cardiologist and founder of Natural Heart Doctor
-
Rodgers, JL, Jones, J., Bolleddu, S., et al. (2019). Cardiovascular risks associated with sex and aging. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease. 6(2):19.
-
Backman, I. (2024). The biology of aging. Yale School of Medicine
-
Makarem, N., Shechter, A., Carnethon, MR, et al. (2019). Sleep duration and blood pressure: recent advances and future directions. Current reports on hypertension. 21(5):33
-
Mullington, JM, Simpson, NS, Meier-Ewert, H., et al. Sleep loss and inflammation. Best Practice and Clinical Research: Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 24(5):775-784
-
Csige, I., Ujvárosy, D., Szabó, Z., et al. (2018). The impact of obesity on the cardiovascular system. Journal of Diabetes Research. 2018:3407306. two: 10.1155/2018/3407306
This story was originally published by Parade on January 17, 2026, where it first appeared in Health & Wellness. Add Parade as a favorite source by clicking here.