Adolescent Sleep as a Biomarker for Cardiovascular Health in Young Adulthood

By Allison Proffitt

October 29, 2025 | We know that sleep predicts cardiovascular health for middle-aged and older adults. But are sleep patterns as adolescents a biomarker for cardiovascular health in young adults as well? Researchers at Stony Brook University in New York looked into the question. They published their findings this month in JACC: Advances (DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2025.102261)

Several meta-analyses largely consisting of middle-aged and older-adult samples have demonstrated that obtaining sufficient sleep (more than 7-9 hours/night) is associated with a decreased risk for cardiovascular disease and related events, including stroke, atrial fibrillation, arterial stiffness, coronary artery disease, and mortality from coronary artery disease. Some research has also shown that going to sleep earlier, staying asleep, and being consistent in sleep patterns is also associated with better cardiovascular health-related outcomes.

But is sleep just as predictive of heart health among young adults, those 20-39 years of age? In the United States, only 32% of this age group are characterized as having an “ideal” cardiovascular health profile, and this percentage declines throughout the lifespan, the authors wrote. This decline is more associated with worsening health behaviors than biological factors.

Identifying potentially modifiable factors, such as sleep, during adolescence may be beneficial to both cardiovascular health and quality of life, the authors posit.

Longitudinal Outlook

The researchers used data from a diverse U.S. population-based sample from the Future of Families (FF) and Child Wellbeing Study, the FF- CHAYA (Cardiovascular Health Among Young Adults) Study, and the FF-Sleep Sub-Study. These databases include individuals born between 1998 and 2000 in 20 large US cities.

Of 1,049 adolescents who assented to the sleep study at age 15 and wore wrist-actigraphy devices for about one week, 307 of these had available cardiovascular health data at age 22 as well. The sample was 57% female and 52% identified as Black, 23% as White, 7% as multiracial, and 18% as other race; 26% identified as Hispanic/Latino.

For the 15-year-old’s sleep study, data were gathered on their total sleep time, sleep timing, sleep quality, and variability. Those data were compared to their cardiovascular health scores at age 22 determined by diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, BMI, blood lipids, blood glucose, and blood pressure—the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 7 (LE7) score.

Habits Matter

Somewhat surprisingly, the findings suggest the most important factor is not the simple duration of sleep during a 24-hour day, but consistency in good sleep habits.

The researchers found that going to bed earlier at night, having higher quality of sleep—but not total sleep time–predicted better cardiovascular health, even after adjusting for adolescent lifestyle factors and other confounders.

“Our study strengthens the evidence that healthy sleep patterns during adolescence have lasting physical health benefits,” said senior author Lauren Hale, PhD, Core Faculty member in the Program in Public Health, and Professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine in the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University, in a statement about the work. “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.”