Walkin' after midnight: Late bedtime and health

In 1957, Patsy Cline released her first major single "Walkin' After Midnight." Patsy was not keen on the song when she first heard it, but when she performed it on television, it garnered a positive response. The song was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2020. Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley. Patsy was the first female country music artist to headline her own Las Vegas show. She had numerous hits during her short 8-year career after dying in a plane crash in 1963 coming back from a concert in Kansas City, Missouri. What does walking after midnight have to do with health? A large body of research has evaluated the impact of sleep on one's health. Based on extensive evidence, the American Heart Association now considers sleep as one of Life's Essential 8 (https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/lifes-essential-8). Altered sleep patterns have been linked to poor cardiometabolic health. How do health professionals define cardiometabolic health? Cardiometabolic health is a grouping of diseases and health conditions, which are the leading cause of death worldwide. The grouping includes being overweight (obese), diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), and high levels of cholesterol (hyperlipidemia). A key factor in being overweight is the concentration of fat in the abdominal region as measured by waist circumference. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world. The World Health Organization reports 17.9 million deaths each year are due to heart disease globally. In 2021 within the United States, approximately 695,000 deaths resulted from heart disease, which translates to 1 out of every 5 deaths. This number exceeds the total deaths from cancer, respiratory illness, and accidents combined. A study released in the Journal of the American Heart Association on June 18 was the first study to evaluate the time at which someone goes to sleep. Other studies have concentrated on the duration of sleep and its connection to health issues. Based on the duration of sleep studies, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommends adults get at least 7 hours of sleep each night to optimize health. The researchers of the June 2024 study wanted to evaluate circadian rhythm misalignment and its impact on sleep. Circadian rhythm is our body's internal clock regulating our 24-hour cycle of physical, mental, and behavioral changes. It is the mainstay of our daily activities. The scientists were particularly interested in the misalignment caused by loss of sleep, social jet lag, early morning starts, and delayed bedtimes due to pressures of modern society. What is social jet lag? This is a newly defined term describing when one's natural circadian rhythm does not match their social or work schedule resulting in irregular sleep patterns. The study evaluated 6,696 adults between the ages of 20-80 years with an almost 50-50 split of men to women. The study categorized participants into 9 different sleep categories looking at both sleep duration and the time they went to bed. These categories included early bedtimes of before 10 p.m., optimal bedtimes between 10 p.m. and 11:59 p.m., and late bedtimes after midnight. The researchers deemed less than 7 hours of sleep as inadequate, 7 to 8 hours as sufficient, and 9 or more hours of sleep as excessive. The study found both men and women had a higher risk of cardiometabolic disease if they had any combination of insufficient sleep or excessive sleep when added to a late bedtime. The study confirmed the best results for overall health were a bedtime between 10 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. with a sleep duration of 7-8 hours. So, do not go walking after midnight! Kier is a pharmacist with Ohio Northern University HealthWise Pharmacy.