The importance of a good night’s sleep is a message that’s been drilled into us time and again. We’re told to aim for seven to nine hours of sleep to maintain our health and well-being. But what if there’s more to the story than just the duration of our slumber?
A recent study has shed light on a crucial aspect of our sleep habits that could be putting our hearts at risk, and it’s something many of us might be overlooking: the regularity of our sleep patterns. The study has found that failing to maintain a consistent bedtime and wake-up time can increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, and heart failure by a staggering 26%, even for those who manage to clock in a full night’s sleep.
This revelation is particularly concerning because it suggests that even if we’re getting the recommended amount of sleep, we could still be jeopardising our cardiovascular health by not sticking to a regular sleep schedule.
Researchers are now turning their attention to the patterns of our sleep, focusing on the impact of irregular sleep, which is defined as variations in the times we go to bed and wake up. Published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the study involved 72,269 participants aged 40 to 79. The findings were clear: irregular sleepers were at a higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, regardless of their total sleep duration.
Jean-Philippe Chaput, the lead author from the University of Ottawa, advises that we should aim to wake up and go to sleep within 30 minutes of the same time each night and morning, including weekends. The closer you are to zero variation, the better for your health.
‘No one is perfect across a whole year, and if you don’t have a regular sleep pattern for one or two days a week, it’s not going to kill you,’ he adds.
‘But if you repeatedly have irregular sleep, five or six days a week, then it becomes chronic, and that is a problem.’
Interestingly, the study suggests that waking up at the same time each day is more crucial than the time you go to bed. A consistent wake-up time helps regulate your internal clock, which, when disrupted, can have adverse health consequences. If you’re trying to make up for lost sleep, Chaput recommends going to bed earlier rather than sleeping in, maintaining a consistent wake-up time even on weekends.
Participants in the study wore an activity tracker for seven days to record their sleep patterns. Researchers then calculated a sleep regularity index (SRI) score for each person, which captured the variability in bedtime, wake-up time, sleep duration, and wake-ups during the night. The scores ranged from 0 (very irregular) to 100 (perfectly regular sleep-wake pattern), and participants were categorised into groups based on their SRI scores.
Over an eight-year follow-up period, even after adjusting for other factors, irregular sleepers were found to be 26% more likely to suffer from cardiovascular events than those with regular sleep patterns. Moderately irregular sleepers had an 8% increased risk. The study also found that regular sleepers were more likely to meet the recommended sleep quota than irregular sleepers, but this did not offset the increased risk for irregular sleepers.
While this was an observational study and could not establish cause and effect, the researchers concluded that irregular sleep was strongly associated with a risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults, whether or not they met the recommended sleep quotas.
‘More importantly, our results suggest that sleep regularity may be more relevant than sufficient sleep duration in modulating major adverse cardiovascular event risk,’ they said.
So what does this mean for you, readers? It’s time to take a closer look at your sleep habits. Are you going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day, or does your schedule fluctuate? Remember, it’s not just about how long you sleep but also how consistently you do so. By prioritising a regular sleep pattern, you could be taking an important step in protecting your heart health. Share your thoughts and experiences with sleep regularity in the comments below.
Also read: Could not getting enough sleep increase your risk of type 2 diabetes?
Would be good to have a regular sleep pattern – if I could! Can go to sleep, it’s staying asleep that can be an issue.
For me, it’s the getting to sleep part that (quite literally) has me up at night! There must be no light at all, temp is not too hot but also not too cold, and most importantly, my mind must not be racing…
My father did shift work, so 4 days out of 7 he had to try and catch up on sleep during the day. No regular bed time or wake up time for him. He developed atrial fibrillation. OK just one anecdote, but shift workers can’t have a healthy sleep routine how ever much they might want it.