Neurologist Dr Baibing Chen has warned that it could have serious consequences for your physical and mental health
It could be having a negative impact(Image: Andrii Iemelyanenko via Getty Images)
A neurologist has delivered a stark warning about a common night-time habit that he says “destroys your body”. The specialist claims this issue could be causing significant damage to both physical and mental wellbeing.
In a TikTok video, neurologist Dr Baibing Chen warned that an erratic sleep schedule could trigger serious health problems and potentially result in an “earlier” death. He explained that keeping a consistent sleeping pattern may be “just as important” as getting enough hours of rest, reports Lancs Live.
Dr Chen, known as Dr Bing on social media, stated: “Science shows that if your sleep schedule is inconsistent and all over the place, you are more likely to have medical problems and die earlier. And here’s why.
“We used to think that sleep was just about getting seven to nine hours, which still matters a lot. But new research shows that consistency might be just as important.”
Constantly shifting your sleep routine could make your brain feel as though it’s perpetually “flying across time zones”. Dr Bing explained: “So, for example, if you sleep from 10pm to 6am during the week, then the weekend hits, and now you sleep from 1am to 11am, you’re still getting eight hours.
“But to your brain, that’s like flying across time zones every single weekend. And if you do this over and over again, over the long run, your body and your brain are not going to like it.” The root cause of this lies in something known as your circadian rhythm. “This is because your brain has an internal clock called your circadian rhythm,” Dr Bing explained.
“And that clock helps control your hormones, blood pressure, your metabolism, your body temperature, and your immune functions. And when your sleep schedule keeps shifting, that clock gets confused, and your body starts releasing hormones at the wrong times.
“And things like cortisol, melatonin, and insulin regulation all get disrupted over time.” The consequences for your overall health can be considerable.
He continued: “That’s then linked to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, depression, and earlier death. And this doesn’t just affect how long you can live, but can actually affect your quality of life.
“Because irregular sleep doesn’t just affect long-term health, but it can hurt your mood, focus, your reaction time and energy.”
His recommendation, therefore, was to maintain a steady sleep routine of seven to nine hours per night. He concluded: “Right now, this is why I always recommend to my patients, whether they have brain fog or migraines or seizures or cognitive decline, that they need to sleep consistently. And they need to sleep seven to nine hours a day.”
What does research show?
His advice is supported by a study suggesting that an inconsistent sleep pattern could significantly increase your risk of cardiovascular problems. The findings, published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, revealed that individuals with both an erratic sleep schedule and fewer than eight hours of sleep per night were at a greater risk of experiencing a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE).
Within the context of the study, this encompassed heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), unstable angina, stroke, heart failure hospitalisation, or cardiovascular disease death. Study authors wrote: “They concluded: “Among the participants with sleep durations under eight hours, irregular sleep timing was a significant risk factor for MACEs. Specifically, variability in bedtime and sleep midpoint, but not in wake-up time, was associated with increased risk.
“These findings highlight the importance of consistent sleep behaviour, particularly regular bedtimes, as a potential target for health promotion.”
