Role of Sleep and Sleep Disorders in Cardiometabolic Risk: a Review and Update

Sleep plays a pivotal role in regulating numerous physiological functions, including cardiovascular activity, glucose regulation, lipid management, and hormone secretion. This review explores the impact of insufficient and irregular sleep, as well as specific sleep disorders, on cardiometabolic risk. We aim to illuminate the potential mechanisms underlying these associations.

A substantial body of evidence links sleep duration (both short and long), sleep regularity, and disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, and restless leg syndrome with the development of obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, inflammation, diabetes, cardiovascular complications, and related mortality.

Despite the significant volume of research highlighting the interplay between sleep disturbances and cardiometabolic disorders, our understanding of this intricate relationship remains somewhat incomplete. Future research is essential to deepen our understanding and identify therapeutic strategies and interventions that can mitigate the detrimental effects of sleep disorders on cardiometabolic health.