New sleep pattern study shows unexpected link to heart problems
Scientists tracked over 70000 peoples sleep habits using special devices finding a dangerous connection with heart health. Research shows that changing sleep times matters more than total hours of rest
A ground-breaking study published in the BMJ journal shows how un-steady sleep schedules might affect our hearts. Dr. Michael Searles and his co-researchers looked at data from UK Biobank study which tracked sleep patterns of 72‚269 middle-aged people
The research team used high-tech activity trackers to check peoples sleep habits for a week; the data helped create special sleep-regularity scores. Scientists split participants into three groups based on how steady their sleep patterns were (those who kept same bedtimes versus those who didnt)
After about 8 years of tracking‚ the results were eye-opening — people with irregular sleep patterns had a 26% higher chance of heart problems. The middle group with semi-regular sleep showed an 8% higher risk. Whats really interesting: even folks who got enough sleep hours but at different times werent safe from these risks
The science behind this is linked to our body clock — or circadian rhythm: when we mess with our sleep times it affects things like blood-pressure metabolism and our immune system. Emily McGrath from British Heart Foundation points out: “disturbed sleep is connected to higher levels of CRP protein which shows inflammation in the body“
A side-study also found some interesting brain-health differences: men who have heart-related risks might see their brain function drop earlier than women. While men show changes from their mid-50s women dont see similar effects until about 10 years later
