The EASIEST Way to STOP Heart Disease

As long as heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., we’ll be talking about ways to reduce your risk.

Most of that advice centers on diet and exercise.

But there’s a way to reduce your risk of heart disease that doesn’t involve eating like a rabbit or running like a hamster on a treadmill.

In fact, it involves doing pretty much nothing at all…

In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers studied 4,000 people without heart disease.

These individuals had 3-D heart ultrasounds and cardiac CT scans to get a good look at their heart… and they also wore a tool to measure how much sleep they were getting per night.

Compared to people who got seven to eight hours of sleep per night, those who got less than six hours of sleep per night were 27% more likely to develop atherosclerosis.

This disease hardens your arteries and is the prime contributor to heart attacks and strokes.

Quality of sleep played a role, too.

Those who had poor sleep quality (meaning they woke up more throughout the night and spent less time in deep sleep) were 34% more likely to develop atherosclerosis.

This study adds even more proof of the connection between sleep and heart disease.

Just a few months ago, three studies were presented at the European Society of Cardiology showing that getting enough sleep lowers your risk of heart disease.

In addition to the quality and quantity of sleep, WHEN you sleep is just as important, with one study finding that people who go to bed later have a higher risk of dying than their “early-to-bed” counterparts.

If you’re having trouble sleeping – or falling asleep – the best thing you can do is to fix your environment by avoiding blue light at night. That’s the kind that comes from your TV, phone, and tablet.

Blue light suppresses melatonin (aka, the sleep hormone) and alters your circadian rhythm.

Studies have shown that exposure to blue light at night shortens total sleep time and decreases sleep quality – the very things that this recent study showed can increase your risk of heart disease.

If you don’t want to power down, I recommend investing in a pair of blue-blocking glasses. They are available on Amazon.com for $20-$30.