I’ve always struggled with inconsistent sleep, staying up late and waking up at different times each day. My love for coffee was also on an all-time high with trying all the season specials. But it is only recently, I learned how this irregular sleep pattern and caffeine could increase my risk of heart attack and stroke. Now, I’m prioritizing a consistent sleep schedule and cutting out caffeine after 3 PM to protect my heart.

A new, shocking study shows that irregular sleep patterns can greatly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. But that's not all: the timing of your caffeine intake could also play a critical role in your cardiovascular health. If you are struggling with inconsistent sleep patterns and regularly sipping on caffeinated beverages late in the day, you may be unknowingly putting yourself at risk for serious heart-related issues.

For most people, sleep is something of a given and we often only consider ourselves as long as we get our required seven to nine hours. However, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, it may not be that long after all. The study, which included more than 72,000 participants, found that people with irregular sleep patterns—those who fall asleep and wake up at vastly different times each day—face a 26% higher risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke. This increased risk persisted even for those who managed to get enough sleep. The study followed up participants for eight years to track heart events such as heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure. The conclusions were clear: irregular sleep, even if it's sufficient in duration, is a major cardiovascular risk factor.

The researchers found that those whose sleep patterns were highly irregular had a significantly greater chance of life-threatening heart issues. The more erratic your sleep schedule, the greater the risk, regardless of how many hours you sleep. In fact, people with irregular sleep schedules showed worse cardiovascular health outcomes, including higher rates of high blood pressure, elevated stress hormones, and poor blood sugar and cholesterol management.

Senior scientist Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput said "sleep regularity may be more relevant than sufficient sleep duration in modulating MACE [major adverse cardiovascular event] risk." In the study, it shows that our bodies are comfortable with consistency, and a varied sleep schedule may interfere with other processes that keep us healthy, especially the heart.

Is it Caffeine After 3 PM Causing Sleeplessness?

Another daily habit that may be putting your heart at risk is caffeine consumption after 3 PM. According to Dr. Chaput, the experts emphasize the need for a healthy sleep schedule and avoiding caffeine late in the day. Caffeine can stay in your blood for up to eight hours, and its consumption later in the afternoon can disrupt your sleep cycle.

Consistent, good-quality sleep is necessary for maintaining healthy cardiovascular function, and the disruption of this by late-day caffeine intake exacerbates the risks posed by irregular sleep. When you drink coffee, tea, or other caffeinated beverages too late, the stimulant effect on your nervous system makes it harder to fall asleep at a regular time. This can lead to inconsistent sleep patterns, which, as we have seen, can be harmful to heart health.

Dr Chaput insists that humans need to adopt practices that contribute to regularized sleep habits. This can be attained by establishing a proper sleeping and waking schedule, eliminating afternoon intake of stimulants such as caffeine, and making your body clock coincide with the lifestyle one leads.

How Does Poor Sleep Affect Heart Health?

According to the experts, the disturbance due to irregular sleep patterns impacts more than one physiological process involved in the maintenance of the healthy heart. For example, poor sleep can be associated with increased inflammation of the body, weakened immunity, and altered regulation of blood sugar and cholesterol, all of which contribute to increased blood pressure and weakening endothelial function, both associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. Sleep also plays a very important role in regulating stress hormones. Poor or disturbed sleep results in increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which increases blood pressure and can have negative impacts on cardiovascular health over time.

Scientists hypothesize that these disturbances trigger a series of negative effects that enhance the risk of developing chronic heart conditions, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, or even heart failure.

Tips to Protect Your Heart and Improve Your Sleep

In order to protect your heart, experts recommend several proactive measures to improve your sleep patterns and lifestyle. First, maintain a regular sleep schedule whereby you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends. Consistency will keep your body's internal clock in check.

Along with regulating your sleep, paying attention to your caffeine habits is just as important. To reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, experts suggest avoiding caffeine after 3 PM. If you’re sensitive to caffeine, this rule becomes even more critical.

In addition, the introduction of stress-reducing activities like yoga or mindfulness can also be beneficial to lower cortisol levels, and therefore both sleep and heart health can improve. A diet rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, and low on processed sugars also helps maintain cholesterol levels and reduce inflammation.

Does Your Sleep Environment Also Has A Role To Play

Apart from the timing of caffeine and your sleep schedule, another very overlooked factor is the quality of your sleep environment. Scientists have long known that the environment in which you sleep has a huge impact on the quality of your rest. Poor quality of sleep, even if your sleep schedule is regular, can cause health risks that are very much the same as those that arise from irregular sleep patterns.

Here’s an additional tip: make sure your bedroom is conducive to restful sleep. This means keeping your room dark, quiet, and cool. A temperature of around 65°F (18°C) is ideal for most people. Consider investing in a comfortable mattress and pillows, and avoid screen time at least 30 minutes before bed to allow your brain to unwind.

Irregular sleep, in association with taking caffeine in late parts of the day, can risk heart attack and stroke, but a simple maintenance of a sleep schedule, the reduction of consumption of afternoon caffeine, and sleep environmental awareness can definitely safeguard one's heart along with total health.

Your sleep is more than just a time for rest; it's a vital component of your long-term health, and maintaining consistency in your sleep habits is one of the best things you can do for your heart.

Glaucoma is an umbrella term for a group of eye diseases that create pressure inside your eyeball, which can damage delicate, critical parts at the back of your eye, including the optic nerve.

While most of the diseases are progressive, meaning they gradually get worse and eventually cause permanent vision loss and blindness. In fact, glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness worldwide and is the leading cause of blindness for people over 60 years old.

Dr Niteen Dedhia, Medical Director, Ojas Maxivision Eye Hospital tells Business Standard: "Glaucoma slowly and quietly causes damage to the optic nerve. Changes in eye pressure, blood flow and nerve fibres occur over time, while the brain often compensates for the loss.

"As a result, symptoms go unnoticed, and by the time vision loss becomes apparent, the damage is usually permanent."

Many forms of glaucoma have no warning signs and the effect is extremely gradual, to the point that you may not notice a change in vision until the condition is in its late stages.

Here are some symptoms that mid-age people need to keep an eye out for:

1. Gradual loss of circumferential vision

One of the earliest symptoms of glaucoma is damage and subsequent loss of peripheral vision. Dr Dedhia noted: “Glaucoma starts by damaging the peripheral vision but doesn’t affect the centre (front) vision."

If you seem to struggle with spotting objects approaching from the side or bump into things more often, you may be experiencing early stages of the disease and not merely experiencing normal ageing.

2. Difficulty seeing or reading in the dark or low light settings

3. Frequent changes in eye power

Dr Neeraj Sanduja, Ophthalmologist, Eye Surgeon at Viaan Eye Centre, Gurgaon told the publication: "Needing frequent prescription changes or feeling that glasses 'never feel quite right' may reflect subtle visual field changes caused by glaucoma rather than simple refractive error progression."

4. Eye pressure or unusual discomfort

Open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of the condition that causes patchy blind spots in your side vision, is often painless or limited to a mild sense of pressure or heaviness in the eyes.

Those suffering from open-angle glaucoma may notice a dull ache after prolonged screen time or reading that improves with rest. Frequently mistaken as regular eye strain, it is often ignored, however, may indicate subtle increases in eye pressure that require professional evaluation.

5. Frequent headaches with eye strain

Frequent headaches, especially when accompanied by eye strain or blurred vision, should not be ignored as migraine pain as it may signal rising eye pressure or early glaucoma changes, Dr Dedhia warns.

Who Is at Risk for Glaucoma?

Certain groups of people have a higher than normal risk of getting glaucoma which includes those who:

• have high eye pressure
• are farsighted or nearsighted
• have had an eye injury
• use long-term steroid medications
• have corneas that are thin in the center
• have thinning of the optic nerve
• have diabetes, migraines, high blood pressure, poor blood circulation or other health problems affecting the whole body
• are over age 40
• have family members with glaucoma
• are of African, Hispanic, or Asian heritage

Abnormal sleeping patterns, whether excessive or brief, can significantly increase your risk of developing chronic liver disease, an EMJ study suggests.

Sleep duration has previously been linked to worsening your chances of Type 2 diabetes; obesity; cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, stroke, heart attack; mental disorders such as depression, anxiety; weakened immune system and potentially contributing to neurological conditions such as dementia.

However, researchers have now also found that sleep disruption may intensify existing stress on the liver which can worsen metabolism and pave the way for disease progression.

The authors noted that poor sleeping habits may influence liver health for multiple reasons including by altering glucose metabolism, increasing inflammation and disrupt circadian rhythms that regulate liver function.

"Participants who reported consistently short sleep duration were more likely to have elevated liver enzymes and higher fibrosis risk scores compared with those reporting moderate sleep duration. Long sleep duration was also associated with adverse liver markers, though the relationship was weaker than that observed for short sleep," the study noted.

Despite discovering links, the involved researchers noted that the study only highlighted sleep as a potential factor that could worsen liver function along with other lifestyle reasons and did not act as a clear cause.

Why Is Chronic Liver Disease A Concern?

Once a rare condition, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) now affects one in three Indians. A JAMA study has now found that about 40 percent of the global population is now suffering from NAFLD, with abdominal obesity identified as its single biggest risk factor.

Researchers found that nearly 70 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes and about 80 percent of those with obesity are affected by NAFLD. They also discovered that NAFLD prevalence is higher in men than in women, with rates of 15,731 per 100,000 population in men compared with 14,310 in women.

READ MORE: This Deadly Liver Disease Is Affecting People In Their 20s And This One Symptom Is The Red Flag

Between 2010 and 2021, India recorded a 13.2 percent increase in age-standardized prevalence, ranking just behind China at 16.9 percent and Sudan at 13.3 percent. Additionally, the disease peaks earlier in men, between 45 and 49 years of age, while women show the highest prevalence between 50 and 54 years.

NAFLD, now called as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is when excess fat builds up in the liver, unrelated to heavy alcohol use, due to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol.

It ranges from simple fat accumulation to inflammation and damage, which can progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis or liver cancer, The disease often has no symptoms and is managed with lifestyle changes such as diet and weight loss.

Why Is NAFLD on the rise?

Poor diets (high carbs/sugar), sedentary habits and rising obesity are some of the key reasons why an uptick in NAFLD cases has been seen pan-India. Increased intake of refined carbs, sugary drinks, processed foods and unhealthy fats can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol which can pave the way for this liver disease.

Experts also note that working long hours at desks without any proper physical activity can lead to weight gain and fat accumulation in the liver.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the prevalence of the condition could be in the range of 9-53 percent. Multiple other health studies also suggest nearly 40 percent of urban Indians may have some form of fatty liver disease

Hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as LiverDoc on social media, noted on X that many patients do not realize that timely lifestyle changes can completely reverse the condition. “All it takes is being in charge of your body and health. No shortcuts—go slow and steady,” he wrote.

If left untreated, NAFLD can progress to Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), where liver inflammation begins. Over time, this inflammation can lead to scarring of the liver, known as fibrosis. Advanced fibrosis results in cirrhosis, which severely affects liver function.

NAFLD can also increase the risk of chronic liver disease, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. Many patients diagnosed with liver cancer have a history of untreated fatty liver.

Over 2 million Americans have Alzheimer's. It is the most common cause of dementia and is a progressive disease. This means the disease will get worse, however, it could be managed, though cure is not available. It is the biological process that begins with the appearance of a buildup protein in the form of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. This causes brain cells to die over time and the brain to shrink.

What Makes Alzheimer's So Unique?

The fact that there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease is one of the most unique part of the condition. In advanced stages, loss of brain function can cause dehydration, poor nutrition or infection.

The symptoms of Alzheimer's are unique because the signs are easily miss-able. These signs could seem like a day to day problem and not anything serious. At first, it starts with trouble in remembering recent events or conversations. Over time, memory gets worse and other symptoms occur.

While everyone could have trouble with memory at times, the memory loss that happens with Alzheimer's is lasting. The signs could be:

• Repeat statements
• Repeating questions over and over
• Forgetting conversations, appointments and events
• Misplacing items, and putting the in odd places
• Getting lost in places you know very well
• Forgetting names of family members
• Forgetting names of everyday objects
• Have trouble finding the right words, expressing thoughts or having conversations

Unique Symptoms Of Alzheimer's: Cannot Recognize Numbers

Alzheimer's could also lead to trouble in concentrating, thinking, especially about abstract concepts like number. Your thinking and reasoning abilities take a hit. In fact, in many cases, people with Alzheimer's are not able to recognize numbers.

Unique Symptoms Of Alzheimer's: Cannot Perform Everyday Tasks

There are many tasks that you do in your day to day life, which come easy to you, could become difficult over time. As Alzheimer's advances, people forget how to do basic tasks such as dressing or bathing.

Read: What A Finger-Prick Blood Test Could Mean for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

Your Personality Changes

With Alzheimer's, your personality too can change, as the disease could affect moods and behaviors. Symptoms include:

• Depression.
• Loss of interest in activities.
• Social withdrawal.
• Mood swings.
• Not trusting others.
• Anger or aggression.
• Changes in sleeping habits.
• Wandering.
• Loss of inhibitions.
• Delusions, such as believing something has been stolen when it hasn't.

Are There Any Treatments Or Cures?

UK researchers say fruit flies could help unlock why devastating brain and nerve conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease develop, despite decades of medical research. Scientists have known for years that many neurodegenerative disorders are linked to genetic mutations. What has remained unclear is how those mutations actually trigger disease inside the nervous system.

According to the Mirror, new findings published in the journal Current Biology suggest a breakthrough may lie in studying fruit flies, insects whose genes behave in strikingly similar ways to those in humans.