You can expect better results if you refrain from eating 3 hours before bedtime. heart healthaccording to a recent study by Northwestern University.
Extending your overnight fast by two hours, dimming the lights, and not eating for three hours before bed has been shown to improve cardiovascular and metabolic health.
The results were observed in middle-aged and older adults. senior citizenThese are people who are at high risk for cardiometabolic disease, as stated in a university press release.
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Time-restricted eating has recently skyrocketed in popularity because it may improve heart health and help your health. weight lossthe researchers pointed out.
“However, most studies have focused on how long people fast, rather than how they coordinate sleep schedules with sleep schedules, which are key components of metabolic regulation,” the study authors wrote.
The nearly eight-week study, published in the journal Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, included 39 studies. overweight and obesity Participants ranged in age from 36 to 75. The intervention group was 80% female.
Participants completed one extended overnight fasting intervention — 13 to 16 hours — or 11 to 13 hours of “habitual fasting.” Both groups dimmed the lights three hours before bedtime.
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Those who finished their meals at least three hours before bedtime showed “meaningful improvement” compared to participants who continued with their normal eating habits.
These improvements included a 3.5% reduction in blood pressure and a 5% reduction in heart rate, as well as a “more natural decline” in both measurements during sleep, “an important sign of good health.” cardiovascular health” the researchers found.
Additionally, fasting participants’ hearts beat faster during the day when they are active and slow down during nighttime rest. This pattern is associated with improved heart health.
People who refrained from eating felt better during the day blood sugar controlThis meant that the pancreas responded “more efficiently” when given glucose, “suggesting that the pancreas is able to release insulin more effectively and keep blood sugar levels more stable.”
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Lead author Dr. Daniela Grimaldi, Research Associate Professor of Neurology sleeping pills Drs. from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine commented on these findings in a statement.
“By adjusting the timing of your fasting periods to match your body’s natural wake and sleep rhythms, you can improve the coordination of your heart, metabolism, and sleep, all of which work together to protect your cardiovascular health,” she said.
Grimaldi said she is “really excited” by the consistent improvements she and her fellow researchers have shown.
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“We found that by simply changing the timing of meals, the balance of the autonomic nervous system at night can be improved at the same time. blood pressure “It was amazing that I was able to take a bath, regulate my heart rate, and metabolize my blood sugar in the morning without any calorie restriction or weight loss,” she told FOX News Digital.
Grimaldi noted that the three-hour fasting window before sleep is “critical.” This is because it is the time when melatonin increases and the body transitions to sleep, and it is also the time when meals disrupt metabolism.
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Sleep expert Dr. Wendy Troxell, a senior behavioral specialist at the Rand Corporation and a licensed clinical psychologist in Utah, emphasized the study’s high compliance rate of nearly 90%.
“The high compliance rate suggests that this approach may be feasible and sustainable in real life and may have a clear impact on improving cardiometabolic health,” Troxell, who was not involved in the study, told FOX News Digital.
This finding further fuels the growth of research linking sleep and circadian rhythms to cardiovascular health, she added. “In fact, the American Heart Association currently healthy sleep As one of the eight essential pillars of life for heart health. ”
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to expand the study into a large, multicenter trial to determine whether the effects persist or “do they lead to reductions in cardiovascular events and diabetes.”
Future research could also investigate the potential benefits of extending time-restricted eating.
“We also want to test this specifically in people with high blood pressure and diabetes. [who] “Exploring how this is combined with other behavioral interventions, such as exercise and exposure to morning light, may help develop more comprehensive strategies,” Grimaldi said. cardiometabolic health. ”
of High proportion of women Grimaldi acknowledged that the study has limitations because it limits the ability to draw “ultimate conclusions” about gender differences.
“Research is needed to examine gender differences,” she says. “Furthermore, our 7.5-week intervention was long enough to show physiological changes, but not long enough to see effects on weight or long-term health.”
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Northwestern University reported that only 6.8% of U.S. adults were in optimal cardiometabolic health from 2017 to 2018.
These conditions can lead to chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. According to the CDC, heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide.
