Going to sleep by 11pm keeps your heart healthy

STAYING up until the end of Newsnight could be bad for your heart, according to new research.

And it is not just due to slippery politicians causing your blood pressure to rocket.

Research by West experts says going to sleep between 10pm and 11pm is associated with a lower risk of developing heart disease compared to other bedtimes.

Staying up after 11pm – or conversely nodding off before the News at Ten – increases the risk.

The study found that compared to sleep onset from 10pm to 10.59pm, there was a 25% higher risk of cardiovascular disease with a sleep onset at midnight or later.

There was a 12% greater risk for 11pm to 11.59 pm, and a 24% increased risk for falling asleep before 10pm, according to the study.

Further analysis by sex suggested the association with increased cardiovascular risk was stronger in women, with only sleep onset before 10pm remaining significant for men.

Study author Dr David Plans, of the University of Exeter, said: “The body has a 24-hour internal clock, called circadian rhythm, that helps regulate physical and mental functioning.

“While we cannot conclude causation from our study, the results suggest that early or late bedtimes may be more likely to disrupt the body clock, with adverse consequences for cardiovascular health.”

While a number of studies have investigated the link between sleep duration and cardiovascular disease, the relationship between sleep timing and heart disease has not received as much attention, researchers suggest.

This study examined the association between objectively measured, rather than self-reported, sleep onset in a large sample of adults.

The study included 88,026 people in the UK Biobank study recruited between 2006 and 2010.

The average age was 61 years, with a range between 43 to 79 years, and 58% were women.

Researchers collected data on sleep onset and waking up time over seven days using a device worn on the wrist. Participants completed demographic, lifestyle, health and physical assessments and questionnaires. They were then followed up for a new diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, which was defined as a heart attack, heart failure, chronic ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and transient ischaemic attack.

During an average follow-up of 5.7 years, 3,172 participants (3.6%) developed cardiovascular disease, according to the study published in European Heart Journal – Digital Health, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

According to the paper, the incidence was highest in those with sleep times at midnight or later and lowest in those with sleep onset from 10pm to 10.59 pm.

The researchers analysed the association between sleep onset and cardiovascular events after adjusting for age, sex, sleep duration, sleep irregularity, self-reported chronotype (early bird or night owl), smoking status, body mass index, diabetes, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and socioeconomic status.

Dr Plans said: “Our study indicates that the optimum time to go to sleep is at a specific point in the body’s 24-hour cycle and deviations may be detrimental to health. The riskiest time was after midnight, potentially because it may reduce the likelihood of seeing morning light, which resets the body clock.”

He added that the reasons for the observed stronger association between sleep onset and cardiovascular disease in women is unclear.

He concluded: “While the findings do not show causality, sleep timing has emerged as a potential cardiac risk factor – independent of other risk factors and sleep characteristics.

“If our findings are confirmed in other studies, sleep timing and basic sleep hygiene could be a low-cost public health target for lowering risk of heart disease.”

Regina Giblin, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This large study suggests that going to sleep between 10 and 11pm could be the sweet spot for most people to keep their heart healthy long-term.

“However, it’s important to remember that this study can only show an association and can’t prove cause and effect.”

A COUNTRY estate in Devon which was once owned by Prince Charles is up for sale – but there’s a catch.

The property, Brimpts Mead Estate, is located at Dartmeet, Yelverton, on Dartmoor National Park.

It is worth £4.95 million and includes a six-bedroom country house, paddocks, two threebedroom cottages and a bank of the River Dart, which the buyer would have to share with the Prince of Wales and his fishing rod.

The nine-acre estate was built between the late 19th and early 20th century.

Prince Charles sold the freehold to a British couple in 1993, the Express reports.

But a covenant still gives the future king the right to turn up whenever he wants for a fishing session – as long as he gives 24 hours’ notice, according to the Land Registry documents.

The Duchy of Cornwall still owns the land surrounding the estate.

Knight Frank, the estate agent handling the sale, has said Prince Charles has never actually stopped by – but this does not mean it couldn’t happen.