Formerly called Life’s Simple 7, the new list is now called Life’s Essential 8, and its novelty is the dream. Yes, you read that right. One of the “essential” activities to keep your heart healthy couldn’t be simpler.
Previously, the seven-item scoring tool included obvious factors such as diet, weight, physical activity, and more.
However, the new sleep metric now suggests that a healthy sleep is also important for your overall and cardiovascular health.
Also, this activity does not involve doing much, just relaxing.
“Sleep duration is now considered an essential component for ideal heart and brain health,” shares the research, published in the journal Circulation.
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However, research explains that sleep duration plays an important role.
By measuring the average hours of sleep per night, the research team found the sweet spot.
The “ideal” duration of sleep is considered to be between seven and nine hours for adults.
When it comes to children aged five and under, they should aim for 10 to 16 hours every 24 hours.
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Those between the ages of six and 12 should be between nine and 12 hours old.
And teens between the ages of 13 and 18 should aim between eight and ten.
The president of the American Heart Association, Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, said: “The new sleep duration metric reflects the latest research findings: sleep affects overall health and people with sleep patterns. they are healthier they manage health factors such as weight, blood pressure or the risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes more effectively.
“In addition, advances in ways to measure sleep, such as with portable devices, now offer people the ability to reliably and routinely monitor their sleep habits at home.”
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Lloyd-Jones added: “Life’s Essential 8 is a big step forward in our ability to identify when cardiovascular health can be preserved and when it is not optimal.
“It should boost efforts to improve the cardiovascular health of all people and at all stages of life.”
Heart disease is a leading cause of death in both the United States and the United Kingdom. According to the British Heart Foundation, heart and circulatory diseases cause more than 160,000 deaths each year.
Fortunately, several studies suggest that more than 80 percent of all cardiovascular events can be prevented with a healthy lifestyle. And sleep is just a factor for a healthy heart.
The full list of things to consider includes:
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Nicotine exposure
- Sleep duration
- Body mass index
- Blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides)
- Blood glucose
- Blood pressure.