Dr Sriram Iyer appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss new findings which reveal that people who do not stick to regular bed and wake times have a higher risk of stroke and heart attack
A doctor has highlighted grim new research indicating that those not sticking to set bedtimes and wake times could face a greater threat of stroke and heart attack, with startling findings from a study involving 72,269 people aged 40 to 79 with no prior major cardiac incidents. Participants in the UK Biobank study wore an activity tracker for a week, revealing that irregular sleepers had a staggering 26% higher chance of stroke or heart issues compared to regular sleepers, while even moderately inconsistent sleepers faced an 8% increased risk.
During an appearance on BBC Breakfast, sleep physician Sriram Iyer stressed lifestyle’s role in achieving consistent sleep patterns by stating: “I think if you generally have enshrined principles and say I’m going to do XY and Z Regular sleep and wake times avoiding caffeine after 3pm really for regular shift workers.”
He added, “It’s caffeine stays in your blood for about eight hours. So you have a set of principles, and as long as you don’t violate those principles too often or too many of them at the same time, you know you believe in the process, sleep will follow.”
Sally Nugent, the host, asked: “And if you can’t sleep, what’s the one thing you could do? What would help? ” Dr Iyer responded: “Well, the answer is certainly not using sedatives. I asked people in my sleep clinic ‘What are your sleep patterns like? What is your routine like, What is your sleep hygiene like’, so that again goes back to the principles of caffeine, alcohol when you eat really important, so important not to eat too close to bedtime.”
“You need to really tell your body it’s time to go to sleep. Your body has hormones that will do it for you. So melatonin hormone secreted by the brain that tells your body when it’s time to go to sleep. And it’s affected by a number of things, including light when you eat exercise, so try and work in sync with your body.”
The test experts calculated a Sleep Regularity Index (SRI) score for each person. This score captured the day-to-day variability in bedtime, wake-up time, sleep duration and wake-ups during the night, with people given a score ranging from 0 (very irregular) to 100 (perfectly regular sleep-wake pattern).
People were followed for eight years, during which time researchers analysed how many suffered conditions such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure. Overall, the recommended amount of sleep for 18 to 64 year olds is seven to nine hours per night, and is seven to eight hours for those aged 65 and over.
The study revealed that while a greater number of regular sleepers (61%) hit the recommended sleep target compared to irregular sleepers (48%), this didn’t translate to better heart health for the latter, who faced the same elevated risks of stroke and heart attack regardless of sufficient sleep. On the flip side, moderately irregular sleepers experienced reduced risks when they achieved adequate sleep.
The team, which includes researchers from the University of Ottawa, noted: “Our results suggest that sleep regularity may be more relevant than sufficient sleep duration in modulating major adverse cardiovascular event risk.”
Emily McGrath, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, commented: “It is not clear exactly how sleep benefits the heart but research suggests that disturbed sleep is associated with higher levels of a protein called CRP.”
“This is a sign of inflammation, the process linked with heart and circulatory disease. Sleep can also have an indirect impact on heart health, by affecting our lifestyle choices.”
“Studies have suggested that not sleeping enough might affect the hormones which influence our appetite, increasing our desire for sugary foods. Over a long period of time this could lead to weight gain and a greater risk of coronary heart disease.”
“More research is needed to strengthen this discovery but the early results suggest there’s an important connection between sleep and heart and circulatory health.”