Study Suggests Changing Nighttime Eating Habits May Help Protect Heart

Abstaining from eating three hours before bedtime could benefit heart health, according to a recent study from Northwestern University.

Extending overnight fasting for two hours, dimming the lights, and not eating for three hours before bed have been shown to improve cardiovascular and metabolic health.

The results were observed among middle-aged and older adults, who are at higher risk for cardiometabolic diseases, as noted in a university news release.

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The researchers noted that time-restricted eating has gained popularity recently because of its potential to improve heart health and aid weight loss.

“But most studies have focused on how long people fast, not how their fasting aligns with their sleep schedule, a key factor in metabolic regulation,” the study authors wrote.

The nearly eight-week study, published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, examined 39 overweight and obese participants between the ages of 36 and 75. The intervention group was made up of 80% women.

Participants completed either a prolonged overnight fasting intervention (1 to 4 p.m.) or a “usual fast” from 11 to 1 p.m. Both groups dimmed the lights three hours before bedtime.

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People who finished eating at least three hours before bed saw “significant improvements” compared to participants who continued their usual eating routines.

Those improvements included a 3.5 percent drop in blood pressure and a 5 percent drop in heart rate, as well as a “more natural drop” in both measures during sleep, which is “an important sign of cardiovascular health,” the researchers found.

The hearts of fasting participants also beat faster during the day when they were active and slower at night when resting, a pattern that is linked to better heart health.

Those who abstained from eating also had better blood sugar control during the day, meaning the pancreas responded “more efficiently” when presented with glucose, “suggesting it could release insulin more effectively and keep blood sugar more stable.”

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First author Dr. Daniela Grimaldi, associate research professor of neurology in the division of sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, commented on these findings in a statement.

“Scheduling our fasting window to work with the body’s natural wake-sleep rhythms can improve coordination between the heart, metabolism and sleep, all of which work together to protect cardiovascular health,” he said.

Grimaldi noted that she and her fellow researchers were “really excited” about the consistent improvements shown.

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“It was remarkable to see that a relatively simple change in meal timing could simultaneously improve nighttime autonomic balance, blood pressure drop, heart rate regulation, and morning glucose metabolism, all without calorie restriction or weight loss,” he told News Digital.

Grimaldi noted that the three-hour fasting period before bed is “critical,” because that’s when melatonin increases and the body transitions to sleep, “a period in which eating alters metabolism.”

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Dr. Wendy Troxel, a sleep expert, senior behavioral specialist at the RAND Corporation, and a licensed clinical psychologist in Utah, emphasized the study’s high compliance rate of nearly 90 percent.

“The high compliance rates suggest that this approach may be feasible and sustainable in real life and could have a demonstrable impact on improving cardiometabolic health,” Troxel, who was not involved in the study, told News Digital.

The findings add to growing research linking sleep and circadian rhythms to cardiovascular health, he added. “In fact, the American Heart Association now recognizes healthy sleep as one of its 8 essential pillars of heart health.”

Limitations and future research.

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to expand the study to larger multicenter trials to determine whether the benefits persist or “translate into a reduction in cardiovascular events or diabetes.”

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Future studies could also explore the potential benefits of prolonging time-restricted feeding.

“We also want to test this specifically in people with hypertension or diabetes, [who] could benefit more,” Grimaldi shared. “And exploring how this is combined with other behavioral interventions, such as exercise or morning light exposure, could help us develop more comprehensive strategies for cardiometabolic health.”

The high percentage of women is a limitation of the study, since it limits the ability to draw “definitive conclusions” about gender differences, Grimaldi acknowledged.

“We need studies that can examine sex differences,” he said. “In addition, 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 outcomes.”

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Northwestern University reported that only 6.8% of U.S. adults were in optimal cardiometabolic health between 2017 and 2018.

These conditions can lead to chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the CDC.