Irregular sleep linked to heart and metabolic disease risk
An observational study followed 10,362 adults initially free of cardiovascular or metabolic disease for a median of three years, finding the broadest links with sleep irregularity.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of 10,362 adults without cardiovascular or metabolic disease, median 3.0 years
- What changed:
- Cardiovascular disease risk was higher with greater sleep duration variability (hazard ratio 1.24 per standard-deviation increase)
- The catch:
- Unmeasured health or lifestyle differences could contribute to the link between irregular sleep and disease
- In the record:
- One of 5 papers on sleep timing variability on record: 3 with results in people.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Among 10,362 adults without cardiovascular or metabolic disease, an observational study examined Fitbit sleep records from a 180-day baseline. All of Us Research Program participants were followed for a median of 3.0 years, starting one year after baseline began.
Night-to-night variation in sleep duration and timing had the broadest links to later cardiovascular and metabolic disease. For a combined outcome of heart attack, heart failure, stroke from blocked blood flow and heart muscle disease, hazard ratios were 1.20–1.23 for timing variability and 1.24 for duration variability. These ratios compared disease rates per standard-deviation increase—a step sized to the spread of participants’ values. More nightly sleep cycles were linked to lower risk of irregular rhythms in the heart’s upper chambers. Longer cycles were linked to higher risk of heart attack or stroke from blocked blood flow.
Why it matters
Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are important concerns for healthy aging. The authors suggested that healthy-sleep recommendations should consider sleep regularity and nightly sleep-cycle structure.
Caveats
Unmeasured health or lifestyle differences could have contributed to the links between irregular sleep and later disease. Participants began without cardiovascular or metabolic disease, and the findings were reported in a conference abstract.
- Sleep timing
- Sleep timing variability
- Sleep cycle architecture
- Metabolic disease
- Cardiovascular disease
- Humans
The paper
Sleep Health and Sleep Cycle Architecture as Risk Axes for Cardiometabolic Disease
Neurobiology; Univ of Maryland Capital Region
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 9122
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