A study has pin-pointed the best time to go to bed if you want to keep your heart healthy.
It’s well known that too little sleep is bad for you – but what time you hit the hay could be just as important.
Scientists have found that between 10 and 11 p.m. is the ideal time.
People who nod off too early or too late are up to 25 per cent more likely to get heart disease or have a stroke, they said.
Dr David Plans, of health tech company Huma, said: “Over millions of years we’ve evolved to be daylight creatures and our bodies do important housekeeping at night.
“If we don’t do that it increases inflammation and impairs glucose control, which are risks for heart disease.
“We have receptors in our eyes that look for morning light to reset the body clock and if you don’t get that it disrupts the body.
“Humans are really complex but also very simple.
“We’re supposed to sleep at night and be awake in the day and that appears to be important for heart health.”
The study, published in the European Heart Journal – Digital Health, was done on 88,000 people aged 43 to 79.
Scientists measured people’s bedtimes using monitors on their wrists and checked six years of medical records.
People who regularly fell asleep before 10 p.m. or after midnight were around 25 per cent more likely to get heart disease or have a stroke.
The danger was smaller for those drifting off between 11 and 12, who were at a 12 per cent higher risk.
Doctors say adults should get between six and nine hours’ sleep a night and try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
While you rest the body repairs cells in the brain, muscles and organs and resets hormone levels, which are crucial for staying healthy.
Dr Plans said that although the study suggested a link between bedtime and heart disease risk, it could not prove it.
He added: “It’s basic advice that if sunlight disrupts the circadian rhythm and that is a risk factor for heart disease, it’s a good idea to try and get to bed at a sensible time.”
Regina Giblin, senior nurse from the British Heart Foundation, said: “Getting enough sleep is important for our general wellbeing as well as our heart health.
“But sleep isn’t the only factor that can impact heart health and it’s also important to look at your lifestyle.”