Sticking to a simple three-hour rule could help boost your heart health. A new study has found a significant link between when you eat dinner and your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers discovered that stopping food at least three hours before bed and slightly lengthening an overnight fast improved blood pressure, heart rhythms, and blood-sugar control in adults at risk for cardiometabolic disease. Dimming the lights three hours before bed also made an impact.

As reported by Science Daily, study author Dr Daniela Grimaldi, said: "Timing our fasting window to work with the body's natural wake-sleep rhythms can improve the coordination between the heart, metabolism and sleep, all of which work together to protect cardiovascular health”

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The seven and a half week study, which was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology - a journal of the American Heart Association, compared participants who stopped eating at least three hours before bedtime with those who maintained their usual eating habits. Those who adjusted their timing experienced several meaningful changes.

Blood pressure at night decreased by 3.5 per cent, and heart rate dropped by five per cent. Participants also experienced improved daytime blood sugar control.

When given glucose, their pancreas responded more effectively, which indicated improved insulin release and steadier blood sugar levels. The trial included 39 overweight or obese adults (aged 36 to 75 years old).

They were assigned to either an extended overnight fasting group (13 to 16 hours of fasting) or a control group that maintained a habitual fasting window (11 to 13 hours). Both groups dimmed lights three hours before bedtime.

Study authors concluded: “Extending overnight fasting duration by three hours in alignment with sleep improved cardiometabolic health in middle-aged/older adults by strengthening coordination between circadian- and sleep-regulated autonomic and metabolic activity. This sleep-aligned time-restricted eating approach represents a novel, accessible lifestyle intervention with promising potential for improving cardiometabolic function.”

This is not the first study to link late-night eating with negative health outcomes. One study, published in Nutrition and Diabetes journal in 2024, suggested that eating late could increase the risk of death from cancer and diabetes.

Study authors said: "Night eating was associated with increased all-cause, cancer and diabetes mortality; however, reduction of excess mortality risk was observed when eating before 11pm or low-dietary-energy-density foods." While a separate study, published in the same journal, suggested that consuming over 45 per cent of your daily calorie intake after 5pm could contribute to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic inflammation.

Researchers noted that late-night eating often leads to excess energy being stored as fat due to reduced physical activity at night. “If you eat and then sleep, your body stores unused energy as fat,” they said.