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Study looks at cardiovascular disease risk and bedtime

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Updated  November 10, 2021 9:19am EST
Health
FOX 5 NY

Bedtime and cardiac health study

A research study out of England found that people who go to sleep between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. had a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease. But what does that mean?

NEW YORK - We hear about sleep studies all the time. This latest one from a research university in England says if you want to lower your risk of heart disease, go to sleep between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.

The study is based on data from more than 88,000 participants in England. It found that people who go to sleep between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. had a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Michael Goyfman, the chief of cardiology at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills in Queens, called the findings "provocative" but that it is impossible to conclude from this particular study that your bedtime affects your heart health.

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"All that researchers noticed is that patients who went to sleep at a certain time tended to have less heart attacks," Goyfman said. "It's possible the two are completely unrelated and it was just a big coincidence."

Goyfman  — who is not associated with this research — said a more thorough study is needed.  

"If a person is going to sleep at 12, I wouldn't say if you go to sleep at 11 you'll live longer," he said. "It's possible but I can't prove that and neither can the researchers."

Study Citation

Shahram Nikbakhtian, Angus B Reed, Bernard Dillon Obika, Davide Morelli, Adam C Cunningham, Mert Aral, David Plans, Accelerometer-derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease incidence: a UK Biobank cohort study, European Heart Journal - Digital Health, 2021;, ztab088, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjdh/ztab088