Although it is common to assume that becoming healthier means making drastic changes, such as engaging in intense training or surviving off green juices, studies reveal that a key factor in longevity may be the time spent in the bedroom.

In particular, this involves what one does in the final few minutes before going to sleep. As reported in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a small tweak to one’s bedtime ritual may lead to greater benefits than anyone assumes.

In an age where it is fashionable to lead an extreme lifestyle, studies show that a slight modification in one’s daily routine may make a world of difference in terms of improving one’s overall cardiovascular wellbeing. Instead of changing everything at once, a person needs only to increase their sleeping time by a little to lower their risks of having heart attacks or suffering from strokes.

In order to understand how such small behaviors impact cardiovascular diseases, a study was conducted where data on health and lifestyle behaviors of over 50,000 adults in the UK were collected over an eight-year period. As noted by the authors of the study, it is one of the more detailed researches exploring the role of behaviors rather than genetic or other medical interventions in cardiovascular disease risks.

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Participants in this study weren’t only asked whether they slept well or not; rather, they were rated based on their diets, physical activity level, smoking habits, and alcohol intake. The outcomes were remarkable: people who lived a healthy life had a 57% less chance of having heart attacks and strokes than those who did not follow healthy behaviors. While this result alone is enough to validate some traditional medical advice, the aspect that surprised the researchers the most was the benefit that even slight improvements might bring.

Data showed that one does not have to become a “health saint” to get a huge return of investment. Perhaps, one of the most shocking revelations was that adding 11 minutes to your sleep routine each day, along with a couple of other minor tweaks, could decrease your risk of developing heart disease by 10 percent. On the surface, 11 minutes might seem like an insignificant amount of time, considering it is hardly enough to even glance through your social media feed or catch a quick video clip online, but over weeks, months, and years, this slight increase in rest contributes to meaningful physiological improvements.

Why such a small amount of time could matter? As the experts believe, the thing is that this particular time should be consistent rather than intense. It is important not to totally change your way of life at once but to introduce some new habits which you will be able to follow. At the same time, it should be mentioned that a drastic change is quite hard to implement and maintain for a long time.

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This was explained by Nicholas Koemel, the author of the study. He stressed that the cumulative influence of small changes can significantly improve people’s cardiovascular health. Instead of changing only one habit (for example, doing more physical exercises), it is better to introduce several new habits to different spheres of life.

Even a few extra minutes of sleep may be enough for regulating blood pressure and helping to minimize the stress hormones, which are present in our bodies due to the fight or flight response. Lack of sleep leads to higher production of cortisol, causing inflammation and stiffening of the arteries. Thus, by sleeping a bit longer, we allow our body to regain balance in its functioning.

The significance of sleep has been well understood in recent years. Previously, it was viewed as a factor inferior to diet and exercise; however, it is now established as an essential component of well-being. The American Heart Association has declared that sleep time is now part of their “Life’s Essential 8” criteria for measuring cardiovascular health. Adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily to ensure that their hearts remain in optimal shape.

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As suggested by the AHA, failure to achieve the recommended number of hours of sleep increases the likelihood of suffering from hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and heart diseases. Sleep helps regulate numerous biological functions in the human body, such as metabolism and hormone secretion. Therefore, when these processes are not regulated correctly due to insufficient sleep, it creates a “perfect storm” for developing chronic conditions.

This notion is supported by a research conducted in 2019 and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which states that people who had healthy sleeping habits were at a much lower risk of suffering from any cardiovascular disease. These scientists discovered some specific behaviors related to good sleeping practices, such as having a regular sleep pattern and never experiencing insomnia. It proves that sleep plays an essential role not only in recovery but also in disease prevention.

Another important reason why small extensions to sleep periods are so influential lies in the concept of a keystone habit. The difference between such a small change and big changes in your lifestyle is the lack of large time investments and costs that come along with big improvements in sleeping habits. As noted by behavioral psychologists, good sleep improves your productivity during daytime, thus, creating positive effects.

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If you do not feel tired all the time, it will become easier for you to remain productive, choose healthy food options, and cope with stress instead of using cigarettes and alcohol. In addition, sleep becomes an important element from which the rest of the healthy habits will emerge. As stated by Emmanuel Stamatakis, who works at the University of Sydney, it is vital to think about useful and user-friendly strategies.

The second lesson learned from this research relates to the importance of making gradual changes. For instance, when someone feels less tired because they got enough sleep after an extended period, they tend to follow through. As suggested by the research, this results in a good loop when one behavior promotes another.

Nevertheless, although such conclusions are optimistic, specialists highlight the importance of realizing that sleep is not the only factor contributing to a person’s well-being. Although gaining several additional minutes of sleep per day contributes to good cardiac functioning, this change needs to be regarded within the context of a more comprehensive lifestyle choice.

The study does a remarkable job of arguing its point: your body doesn’t require a full-scale revolution to be able to heal itself; what it requires is just a bit of extra space to breathe. When you think of wellness as an either/or kind of situation, the hurdle to cross seems to be enormous. You are convinced that if you cannot dedicate one hour of your time to the gym and achieve the perfect eight-hour sleep, there is no point in trying at all. But this data disproves this belief known as the “perfectionist’s trap.”

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As it turns out, even 11 extra minutes of sleep, combined with tiny improvements in your nutrition and physical activity can lower your heart disease risks by as much as 10%.

In the end, however, the results provide hope to those who feel like they need a break. While you cannot alter your genetics, nor can you leave a stressful work environment, what you can do is take 11 minutes for yourself. With today’s constant need to achieve, knowing that something as simple as being marginally better can lead to living longer and living healthier is indeed liberating. Healthier does not mean perfection, or becoming a “health saint”—it simply means you should strive to be a bit more well-rested than before.

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