People who go to bed early, between 10 and 11 at night, have a lower risk of heart disease and heart attack or stroke than those who go to bed later or even earlier, before 10, according to a new British scientific study.
Although several studies have so far linked sleep duration to cardiovascular health, the relationship between when one falls asleep and heart health has not been adequately studied, according to new research in a large population sample. The researchers, led by David Plans of the University of Exeter and published in the European Society of Cardiology’s European Heart Journal – Digital Health, analyzed data from 88,026 people with a mean age of 61 years (43 to 79). .
Sleep habits were recorded for a week with a special device placed in the hand of the participants, who were also asked to fill in questionnaires with demographic, medical and lifestyle data. They were then monitored for a possible diagnosis of heart attack, heart failure, chronic ischemic disease, stroke, etc.
Over the next six years, 3.6% of people developed such a problem. The probability was higher for those who slept after midnight and lower for those who fell asleep between 10 and 11 a.m.
Compared to those who slept between 10 and 11 a.m., those who slept after midnight had an average of 25% higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those who slept between 11 and 12 a.m. had a 12% higher risk, while people who fell asleep before 10 a.m. had a 24% increased risk. The risk was generally higher in women than in men, so they are the ones who seem to benefit the most if they fall into bed between 10-11am.
“The body has a 24-hour internal clock, called the circadian rhythm, which helps regulate physical and mental functions. “Although we cannot deduce a causal relationship from our study, the results show that bedtime, either too early or too late, is more likely to disrupt the body’s clock, which has a negative effect on cardiovascular health,” Plans said.
“The study shows us that the best possible time for sleep is specific to the 24-hour cycle of the body and deviations from it can be harmful to health. “The biggest risk is when someone sleeps after midnight, probably because it reduces the chance of seeing the morning light, which restarts the body clock,” he added.
He pointed out that the reason for the more pronounced correlation observed in women, than in men, between bedtime and cardiovascular health remains unclear. One possible explanation, he said, is that “there is a gender difference in how the endocrine system responds to a circadian rhythm disorder.”
In any case, according to the researchers, “sleep time appears to be a potential cardiovascular risk factor, regardless of other risk factors or the quality of sleep. “If these findings are confirmed by other research, then both sleep time and quality can be a low-cost public health goal to reduce the risk of heart disease.”
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