Sleeping (or not) influences mortality risk. There are hundreds of studies that have investigated the relationship between sleeping habits and the probability of developing certain diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases, from multiple points of view: what time is best to go to bed, whether naps are recommended or not, how long we should rest, and a very long etcetera. Each research draws conclusions, but there are several statements that are repeated: it is important to maintain regular schedules and adjust to circadian rhythms. That is, sleeping well is good for your health.
This will not surprise anyone, it is clear. But it is not so easy to reach a consensus on what it means. “sleep well”. And now, an analysis by the American centers Mass General Brigham and Rush University Medical Center, published in the scientific journal JAMA Network Open, which has analyzed the rest pattern of 1,338 adults, brings some conclusions surprising.
Research ensures that the time of day a person goes to bed increases (or reduces) the risk of mortality. According to the results, extending the time to go to bed beyond midnight is harmful, but also, and this is the novelty, it is go to bed earlier from 22:00. This pattern is maintained even in people who meet the total number of recommended hours of sleep.
The key to this phenomenon lies in the circadian rhythm, the biological clock that regulates the daily cycles of the human body. When this internal mechanism is altered due to irregular hours or imbalances in bedtime, negative consequences can appear that include hypertension, metabolic problems and a greater predisposition to heart and neurodegenerative diseases, according to researchers at Mass General Brigham and Rush University Medical Center.
A second study, led by the universities of Surrey and Northwestern, analyzed more than 433,000 people and concluded that those who tend to sleep late are 10% more likely to die from any cause during a six-year follow-up. This association persists after adjusting for other risk factors, underscoring the importance of the precise timing of sleep onset.
Sleep with Wi-Fi on (TikTok)
According to American research, the recommended time slot is between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Those who go to bed before 10:00 p.m. are 24% more likely to suffer from a cardiac event. And if the onset of sleep is after midnight, the increase is 25%. Finally, those who sleep between 11:00 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. experience a 12% higher risk compared to the group considered optimal.
Recent research has refuted the idea that sleeping “the usual eight hours” is enough to protect health. An analysis of almost 61,000 cases from the UK Biobank, published in the journal Sleephas shown that the regularity of the rest hours reduces the risk of dying from any cause by up to 48% compared to those who follow erratic patterns. This effect is maintained among people who sleep the recommended seven or eight hours.
“The sleep regularity “It is by far the most important thing,” Russell Foster, director of the Institute of Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, told the BBC. Foster emphasizes that the optimal duration depends on each person, but the key is consistency of schedules.
