Food, Tobacco, and Sleep: The Hidden Heart Habits You Can Change

Heart health isn’t just about exercise. The everyday decisions you make around food, tobacco, and sleep quietly shape your blood pressure, energy, and long‑term risk in ways that can be just as important. The good news: small, targeted changes in these areas can add up faster than you might think.

Food is a powerful place to start. Many packaged, restaurant, and “comfort” foods are loaded with sodium, which can make the body hold onto extra fluid and raise blood pressure over time. Guidelines generally recommend keeping sodium under 2,300 milligrams per day, with added benefit closer to 1,500 milligrams for people with high blood pressure or other risk factors. You don’t have to overhaul your diet overnight to move in that direction. Swapping canned soups and sauces for lower‑sodium versions, draining and rinsing canned beans or vegetables, tasting before you salt, and choosing grilled or baked options instead of fried can all cut down on sodium without giving up flavor.

Tobacco is another high‑impact habit. Even a few cigarettes a day can damage blood vessels, raise blood pressure, and significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Many people also find that stress or fatigue leads to more smoking or vaping than they planned. Cutting back or quitting is one of the single most effective steps you can take for your heart, and you don’t have to do it alone. Evidence‑based tools like nicotine‑replacement therapy, prescription medications, and coaching or counseling greatly improve the chances of a successful quit attempt. Nice can help you understand which options might fit your health history, review any medications you’re taking, and check in on blood pressure or other heart‑related concerns as you make changes.​

Sleep often gets overlooked, but it plays a major role in heart health. Adults who consistently get too little or poor‑quality sleep are more likely to develop high blood pressure, diabetes, and other conditions that strain the cardiovascular system. Irregular bedtimes, late‑night eating, and late screen time can make it harder for your body to wind down. Simple steps can help: aiming for a consistent sleep and wake time, keeping heavy meals and caffeine earlier in the evening, dimming lights, and putting devices away at least 30 minutes before bed signal your body that it’s time to power down.​

Change is easier with support. If you’re thinking about adjusting sodium, cutting back on tobacco, or improving sleep, Nice can help you set realistic goals, review medications, and monitor how those shifts affect your blood pressure and overall health. Your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can support the behavior‑change side — offering counseling and practical strategies around stress, cravings, late‑night eating, or the thoughts that keep you up at night. Using both together gives you medical backup and emotional backup as you build heart‑healthy habits that actually fit your life.​

Sources:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “DASH Eating Plan.”
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/dash-eating-plan​

American Heart Association. “How to Manage High Blood Pressure.”
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure​

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Health Effects of Cigarettes: Cardiovascular Disease.”
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/about/cigarettes-and-cardiovascular-disease.html​

World Heart Federation. “Tobacco and Cardiovascular Disease.”
https://world-heart-federation.org/what-we-do/tobacco​

American Heart Association. “Lack of Sleep and Heart Disease.”
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/sleep-and-heart-health​