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What time do you crawl into bed? Do you turn off the lights early or stay awake late into the night? According to research, there would be an ideal time to doze off – at least when it comes to heart health.
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Lai-Wah Chong
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The study was conducted by the University of Exeter and surveyed some 88,000 people. This shows that people who fell asleep after midnight had a 25% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The risk was also 12% higher among those who went to sleep before 10 p.m.
In contrast, the number of people who developed heart problems was lowest among those who went to sleep between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., leading the researchers to view this as the optimal time to go to sleep.
Side note: The study cannot prove that going to sleep before or after 10 p.m. will directly lead to cardiovascular disease. For example, the time at which someone goes to sleep can also be related to the fact that someone often goes out partying until late at night, and the disease can therefore be linked to alcohol abuse. Also, the effective sleep quality was not properly looked at.
dr. David Plans, co-author and head of research: “We mainly have looked at the biorhythm of the individuals. For example, if you go to sleep late, chances are your body is missing important signals from nature, such as the morning light. That light helps to reset our internal clock on a daily basis. If we don’t wake up with the sun for an extended period of time, it can have adverse effects on cardiovascular health.”
What is clear is that the relationship is somehow significant. “However, more research is needed, with a larger and more diverse group of participants, so that we can establish the prescribed time to go to sleep. It is clear that a disturbed biorhythm can have an enormous influence on the cardiovascular system,” concludes Plans.
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