Poor sleep is linked to high blood pressure, obesity, and increased risk of heart disease.
Welcome to the Younger Longer 28-Day Healthy Heart Challenge, a transformative podcast series designed to help you take control of your heart health and live a longer, healthier life. Over the next 28 days, we’ll guide you through a comprehensive journey covering key aspects of cardiovascular wellness—nutrition, exercise, stress management, medical awareness, and lifestyle choices.
Each daily episode is packed with expert insights from Dr. Warrick Bishop, best-selling author and cardiologist dedicated to preventing heart disease before it becomes a life-threatening issue. Using the latest science and practical strategies, this series empowers you to make heart-healthy choices and build habits that will support your well-being for years to come.
What You’ll Learn in the 28 Days:
✔ Understanding Your Heart – How it functions and why proactive care is essential.
✔ Heart-Healthy Nutrition – The best foods to fuel your cardiovascular system.
✔ Exercise & Movement – The role of physical activity in strengthening your heart.
✔ Stress & Mental Well-being – Managing stress and anxiety for a healthier heart.
✔ The Power of Sleep – How sleep quality impacts cardiovascular function.
✔ The Impact of Smoking & Alcohol – Making informed lifestyle changes.
✔ Supplements & Medical Insights – Understanding key nutrients and medical checkups.
✔ Advanced Heart Testing & Risk Factors – Going beyond traditional risk assessments.
✔ Sustaining Long-Term Heart Health Habits – Turning knowledge into action for lifelong benefits.
Why Listen?
- Get practical tips and science-backed advice you can apply immediately.
- Learn from real-world examples and medical expertise.
- Gain daily challenges to help you stay engaged and track progress.
- Take charge of your heart health in a simple, effective, and engaging way.
Your heart is your most vital organ, and the steps you take today will shape your future health. Whether you’re looking to prevent heart disease, manage risk factors, or simply improve your overall well-being, this 28-day challenge is your roadmap to a healthier, longer life.
Subscribe and start your journey today—because every heartbeat counts!
Transcript
G'day and welcome to day eight. We're talking about sleep.
I bet you already know that sleep is really, really important. It almost underpins diet and exercise, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that if you had to choose between good diet, good exercise, and good sleep, you would probably pick good sleep as the most important factor. You’ve likely experienced this firsthand.
It’s fascinating what happens while you sleep—or, more importantly, what happens when you don’t get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can impact the hormones in your body, including leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is responsible for signaling that you’re full, while ghrelin tells your body you’re hungry. When you don’t sleep well, leptin levels drop, making you feel less full, while ghrelin levels increase, making you feel hungrier. Ever had a late night and woken up the next day with the munchies? That’s sleep deprivation at work.
Sleep also has a profound impact on mental health. If you’ve ever been stressed or anxious, you may have noticed that poor sleep only makes it worse. It’s a vicious cycle—stress disrupts sleep, and lack of sleep increases stress. Breaking this cycle is crucial for overall well-being.
There are also some incredible processes that take place during sleep. The brain is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, which helps clear out waste products, including proteins that are linked to conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. These waste-clearing mechanisms only function properly while we sleep, making rest essential for long-term brain health.
One key thing to remember is that lost sleep early in the week can’t be fully recovered by sleeping in on the weekend. Once that sleep opportunity is gone, it’s gone.
So, how can you improve your sleep quality? Sticking to a regular sleep schedule and aligning with natural daylight hours can help. Using dim or red lighting before bed can signal to your body that it's time to wind down. Avoiding heavy meals and alcohol before sleep is also important. While alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, it actually reduces sleep quality.
There’s heaps of information about sleep, so be sure to check out some of our extra resources. Most importantly, make sure you get a good night’s sleep tonight!
For now, I wish you the very best, and I look forward to seeing you on day nine. Take care, and bye for now.
Are You at Risk of a Sudden Heart Attack? How Healthy is Your Heart? Really?
Heart disease is the #1 killer in the Western World. In Australia, someone dies every 28 minutes from heart disease. That’s 51 people a day. In the US, someone has a heart attack every 40 SECONDS! Fortunately, many heart attacks are preventable. However, regular exercise and eating healthy are no guarantee you won’t succumb to this silent killer.
- 94% of Australians have at least One Risk Factor for heart disease.
- 59% of Australians have been Touched by heart disease.
- Yet only 3% of Australians have had a Full Heart-Health Assessment in the past 12 months.
Do the free heart check today at www.virtualheartcheck.com.au
Join the Healthy Heart Network and become part of our growing community!
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The Healthy Heart Network is designed to help members:
- understand the present state of their heart’s health
- recognise their current level of risk of suffering a heart attack
- Learn the positive steps they can take to improve their situation
Visit https://healthyheartnetwork.com/ and click on the JOIN THE FAMILY BUTTON
