Khaberni - Finnish researchers have found that going to sleep at the same time every night can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, even if the quality or duration of sleep is not ideal.
In a recent study, researchers monitored the sleep patterns of more than 3,000 middle-aged people in Finland over about 10 years, using wearable devices that measure sleep and other vital signs.
The study discovered that regularity in three main factors — bedtime, wake time, and the midpoint of sleep (i.e. the time that falls in the middle of the sleep period between falling asleep and waking up) — can predict the risk of future heart issues.
The results showed that people who sleep less than eight hours a day, with irregular sleep times or fluctuations in the sleep midpoint, face a greater risk of serious heart events.
Conversely, it was found that sleeping for more than eight hours may provide some protection for the heart, regardless of the regularity of sleep times. However, oversleeping may also be linked to other health problems such as diabetes and metabolic disorders.
The researcher Laura Naauha, who participated in the study, indicated that these findings are the first of their kind to separate the effects of irregular sleep times, wake times, and sleep midpoint, and to study their relationship independently with heart disease.
She added that regularity in bedtime, in particular, may be an important factor for heart health, as it reflects the rhythm of daily life and its stability.
Researchers assert that the body's biological clock, which operates on a 24-hour cycle, plays a significant role in regulating hormones and protecting the body from many diseases, including heart disease.
The study also indicates that disruptions in sleep timings may disrupt this balance and prevent the heart from getting the ideal recovery period during the night.
Other factors linking sleep and heart health include chronic stress, where a stressful lifestyle, psychological pressures, and exhaustion negatively affect both sleep quality and heart health, according to the New York Post.
Interestingly, wake-up time did not show a significant effect on heart health in this study, though other studies indicate that the way of waking up, such as using annoying alarms, may raise blood pressure and heart rate.
These findings confirm that two habits before sleep raise the risk of heart attacks—the first being sleeping at irregular times and fluctuation in the sleep midpoint between sleep and awakening, even if sleep hours are sufficient, underscoring the importance of regular sleep schedules as a simple yet effective factor in protecting heart health.
