Impact of circadian-aligned meal timing and sleep rhythm on cardiovascular health: A comprehensive review
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Cardiovascular health is influenced not only by the quality of diet but also by the timing of meals. Circadian rhythms, the body's internal biological clock, regulate physiological processes, including metabolism, hormone secretion and cardiovascular function. Disruptions in these rhythms, such as irregular meal timing, have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). There is a strong association between delayed meal timing, particularly late-night eating and breakfast skipping and heightened cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risks. A large-scale European study has suggested that prolonged overnight fasting may lower the risk of CVD and stroke. Emerging dietary approaches, such as time-restricted eating (TRE) and chrono-nutrition, have gained attention for their potential in mitigating metabolic disorders and promoting cardiovascular health. This review explores the intricate relationship between circadian-regulated meal timing and cardiovascular outcomes, analysing molecular mechanisms, clinical evidence and possible dietary interventions. By understanding the role of chrono-nutrition, this review aimed to provide insights into optimising meal schedules to enhance cardiovascular well-being and reduce disease risk. In addition to melatonin's endogenous regulation, dietary sources of melatonin and chronobiotic nutrients (eg, walnuts, tart cherries, oats) may help support circadian alignment. Strategic intake of these foods, especially during evening hours, could enhance melatonin levels and improve cardiovascular outcomes. Moreover, the timing of other compounds like caffeine has emerged as a modifiable factor, with studies showing that morning coffee consumption may reduce cardiovascular and cancer mortality. While intermittent fasting and caloric restriction both reduce caloric intake, these operate through distinct mechanisms. Caloric restriction focuses on reducing total energy consumption, whereas meal timing strategies emphasise aligning food intake with circadian rhythms without necessarily altering caloric quantity. This distinction is critical, as it supports the view on circadian physiology in metabolic regulation.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.004 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".