We all know that regularly mowing the lawn at odd hours isn’t good for your sleep health – but a new study suggests it could be fatal.
new research indicates that there is a irregular sleep routine can do Increased risk of major cardiovascular events Such as heart disease or stroke, even if you’re getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Previous studies have mostly focused on health outcomes sleep duration These findings are therefore important, in contrast to the impact of stable sleep-wake cycles.
“Our results suggest that sleep regularity may be more relevant than adequate sleep duration in modulating MACE [major adverse cardiovascular event] risk,” said the study’s research team.
For the study, 72,269 people aged 40 to 79 wore activity trackers for a week to assess their sleep patterns. None of the participants had a history of heart disease or stroke.
Data were then collected to calculate each participant’s sleep regularity index score. People with a score above 87 were considered to have regular sleep patterns, and those with a score below 72 were considered to have irregular sleep patterns. Those in between were classified as “medium regulars”.
The research team then gathered data on the incidence of stroke, heart failure and heart attack over the next eight years and found that irregular sleepers were 26% more likely to experience a major cardiovascular event than those who did not. , who went to bed at approximately the same time every time. Night.
Participants who had moderately regular sleep schedules were 8% more likely to have this type of life-threatening event.
The study also showed that people with regular sleep were more likely to get the recommended hours of sleep per night — seven to eight hours for those over 65 and seven to nine for those ages 18 to 64. Hours are considered.
Additionally, they found that trying to compensate for lost sleep did not offset the increased cardiovascular risks in irregular sleepers.
The findings were published Tuesday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The study had some limitations, including that sleep data was only collected over the course of a week and the sleep tracker did not differentiate between sleep and conscious rest. Even taking a nap was ignored.
However, this new research suggests that there is a strong link between not going to bed at the same time every night and your risk of heart disease or stroke.
The study authors said, “The findings of this study suggest that sleep regularity needs to be given greater attention in public health guidelines and clinical practice because of its potential role in cardiovascular health.”
