A recent study led by Stony Brook University’s Program in Public Health has found that certain sleep habits during adolescence can influence cardiovascular health in young adulthood. The research, published in JACC: Advances, followed 307 individuals from birth through age 22 across a diverse population in the United States.
Researchers gathered objective sleep data at age 15 using wrist-worn accelerometers and later assessed cardiovascular health (CVH) at age 22 using a composite score. This score incorporated criteria set by the American Heart Association (AHA), such as diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Adjustments were made for lifestyle and sociodemographic factors to ensure accurate results.
The findings showed that adolescents with earlier sleep timing, more efficient sleep quality, and less variability in their sleep patterns had better cardiovascular health scores as young adults. However, the study did not find a significant link between adolescent sleep duration and future CVH.
“Our study strengthens the evidence that healthy sleep patterns during adolescence have lasting physical health benefits,” said Lauren Hale, senior author of the study and core faculty member in the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University. “Healthy teen sleep can be supported through a mix of individual behaviors such as consistent bedtimes and removing screens from the bedroom, and broader structural changes like a later high school start time as one example.”
Lead author Gina Marie Mathew added: “We were surprised that adolescent sleep duration did not predict young adult cardiovascular health in the current study. Instead, other dimensions of sleep health did. Discovering these associations earlier in life means early intervention to improve sleep in adolescents could be protective of future cardiovascular health.”
The authors noted that this is among the first studies to examine whether multiple aspects of actigraphic sleep health during adolescence predict young adult CVH. They recommend further research to explore if shifting adolescent sleep timing earlier and reducing variability can lead to improved heart health later on.
Funding for this research was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
