Stopping eating at least 3 hours before bed may help improve heart health
. Previous research shows that people can improve their cardiometabolic health by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating a healthy diet and getting enough quality sleep.
. A new study says that aligning overnight fasting with the body’s natural circadian rhythm may help improve cardiovascular and metabolic health markers.
. The researchers saw the most benefit from fasting at least 12 hours, as part of a time-restricted eating plan.
Over the last few years, there’s been an increase in research regarding cardiometabolic health, which combines a person’s cardiovascular system and metabolic system.
Cardiometabolic health takes into account certain risk factors derived from both systems, such as obesity, high blood pressure, increased glucose levels, and low HDL cholesterol, which can increase a person’s chances of developing several serious health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and dementia.
Previous research shows that people can improve their cardiometabolic health by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating a nutritious and heart-healthy diet, moving more, managing stress, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting enough quality sleep.
“Cardiometabolic health is strongly related to brain health, and what is emerging is that sleep health may mediate some of these effects,” Phyllis Zee, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine and the chief of sleep medicine in the department of neurology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, told Medical News Today.
Zee is the lead author of a new study published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, part of the American Heart Association, that found aligning overnight fasting, as part of a time-restricted eating plan, with the body’s natural circadian rhythm may help improve cardiovascular and metabolic health measurements both while at sleep and when awake during the day.
How eating 3 hours before bed affects blood sugar and pressure
At the study’s conclusion, Zee and her team found that study participants, who finished eating at least 3 hours before bed, experienced improvements in their nighttime blood pressure levels, which decreased by 3.5%, and in their heart rate, which decreased by 5%.
“In addition to finishing eating three hours before bedtime, (participants) also extended the duration of the overnight fasting time,” Zee explained. “The decrease in blood pressure and heart rate indicates a healthy pattern during sleep, indicating ‘dipping,’ which is considered to be a healthy pattern.”
Additionally, these participants also experienced better blood sugar control during the day.
“For middle-aged and older adults who may be overweight, a healthy diet together with avoiding bright light and stopping eating two to three hours before bedtime, while maintaining an overnight fasting duration of about 12-14 hours, may benefit cardiovascular health during day and night,” Zee added.
