The research found that blocking the accumulation of monocytes in the brain prevented the increase in slow-wave sleep following a heart attack, further supporting the connection.

This significant research was funded by several National Institutes of Health grants, highlighting its importance in the field of cardiovascular studies.

The findings were published on October 30, 2024, in the journal Nature, involving both mice and human subjects.

Mount Sinai Health System is recognized as a leader in cardiology and heart surgery, consistently ranked highly in both national and global assessments for its care and research.

A recent study from Mount Sinai has revealed that heart attacks can trigger increased sleep as a mechanism to aid in heart healing and reduce inflammation.

This research highlights the communication between the heart and brain through the immune system, promoting sleep after a cardiovascular event.

The study began with experiments on rats, where half experienced heart attacks, and researchers used cellular analysis and wireless electroencephalography to monitor sleep patterns.

Notably, this phenomenon of increased sleep occurred just hours after the heart attack and was not observed in rats that did not suffer myocardial infarctions.

In a follow-up to the rat studies, over 80 patients were monitored during the four weeks after their heart attacks, revealing that those with poor sleep had worse prognoses.

Rachel Rowe, a sleep and inflammation specialist, emphasized that the body's natural response to injury is to induce sleep for healing.

Additional studies on healthy adults demonstrated that sleep restriction led to sympathetic stress and inflammatory responses similar to those observed in heart attack patients.

Over the past two decades, research has increasingly underscored the restorative roles of sleep in physical, mental, and cognitive health.