For Young Adults, Heart Health Begins with Sleep

For many, the emerging adult (ages 18-24) life stage is transformational. Young adults might for the first time live away from their family, assume and begin to balance more personal and professional responsibilities, and start establishing lifestyle habits that can impact them not only as emerging adults for many future years. Two lifestyle components that are particularly critical to this life stage are healthy eating and getting enough sleep. And now new research supported by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) suggests that it's not just getting sufficient sleep that's important, but it's the right amount of sleep that can affect long-term health in this population.

The study, co-authored by NHAES scientist Jesse Stabile Morrell '99, '04G, '13PhD, indicates that while a lack of sufficient nightly sleep for emerging adults negatively impacts their body's ability to beneficially respond to food (metabolic health), consistently oversleeping also has adverse effects. Morrell, a principal lecturer in the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture nutrition program and associate chair of the agriculture, nutrition and food systems department, co-authored the research with assistant professor of kinesiology Michael Brian and kinesiology graduate student Bilal A. Chaudhry '23G in the UNH College of Health and Human Services. The study was published in Nutrients.

Using data collected between 2012 to 2021 from the College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey (CHANAS), the researchers assessed the relationship between sleep duration and emerging adults' risk for metabolic syndrome-a group of conditions that occur simultaneously and can lead to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. While the average reported sleep duration was 8.2 hours per day, both low sleepers and long sleepers-those with less than 7 hours and more than 9 hours of sleep per day, respectively-had higher metabolic syndrome severity scores (MSSS).

"This study offered an excellent opportunity to investigate an often-overlooked behavior pattern (sleep) and its relationship to metabolic health," described Chaudhry. "Especially in this population where emerging adults, and primarily college-students, are prone to sacrificing sleep to study or to attend social events."

"This new information shows us that we need to provide a greater emphasis on prioritizing the right amount of sleep among today's emerging adults to encourage better metabolic health," he added.

Existing guidelines for managing metabolic syndrome (MetS) typically focus on dietary and activity interventions as primary lifestyle modifications. However, findings from this recent study suggest that sleep should also be considered as a significant lifestyle modification to incorporate into these recommendations.

Data from CHANAS, which Morrell initially established and has continued to update annually, contain information on the diet, activity and health outcomes of more than 10,000 UNH students from the past decade. In establishing CHANAS, Morrell set out to better characterize the health of UNH students.

"These data have allowed us to investigate a number of important areas of concern among our students at UNH, as well as subgroups who face unique challenges, such as students with disabilities, those facing food insecurity, and those who identify as LGBTQ+," said Morrell. "Furthermore, they provide a wonderful training platform for our undergraduate and graduate students interested in nutrition and health research."

"Ultimately, our work hopes to highlight the impact of diet, lifestyle, and the environment on health among this important group. Plus, we want to help our campus community embrace policies, systems, and environmental changes that support health and wellbeing."

"Ultimately, our work hopes to highlight the impact of diet, lifestyle, and the environment on health among this important group," added Morrell. "Plus, we want to help our campus community embrace policies, systems, and environmental changes that support health and wellbeing."

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