Unfortunately, getting people to change their sleep, eating and activity routines won’t be easy, warned cardiologist Dr. Kenneth Ellenbogen, of the Medical College of Virginia, in Richmond.
“We know how hard it can be to reset an individual’s biological clock or activity habits,” he said. “And while this is certainly fascinating work, it’s really hard to know what’s really going on from one observational study involving a relatively small number of patients.”
Ellenbogen noted, for example, that it’s unclear whether “sleeping in” is a direct cause of the increased risk for type 2 diabetes or heart disease, or whether it’s the lifestyle associated with sleeping in that indirectly raises risk.
“It’s not at all obvious to me what the answer is,” he said after reviewing the findings. “And I certainly wouldn’t say this study proves anything like cause and effect.”
Ellenbogen suggested that the research should be regarded as the start of an ongoing effort to explore links between sleep patterns and heart function.
Muscogiuri’s team presented the findings Wednesday at a virtual meeting of the European Congress on Obesity. Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
To learn more about the links between sleep and heart health, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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