Summary: A new study finds that even a short period of sleep deprivation triggers increases in inflammatory proteins in the blood that are linked to cardiovascular disease. After only three nights of sleeping about four hours per night, healthy young men showed higher levels of proteins associated with heart failure and coronary artery disease.
Although physical exercise still stimulated certain beneficial proteins, the overall pattern indicates the heart may face greater inflammatory strain when sleep is insufficient. The results underscore the essential role of sleep in maintaining heart health and suggest that sleep and exercise are complementary, not interchangeable, in cardiovascular prevention.
Key Facts:
- Rapid impact: Three nights of restricted sleep elevated inflammation-related blood proteins.
- Early warning in healthy people: Biomarkers associated with cardiovascular risk rose even in young, healthy men.
- Exercise helps but does not replace sleep: Physical activity induced beneficial proteins, yet it did not fully counteract the changes linked to sleep loss.
Source: Uppsala University
Short-term sleep loss promotes biological changes linked to higher cardiovascular risk.
Researchers at Uppsala University examined how short-term sleep restriction alters blood biomarkers—specifically circulating proteins—known to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study, published in the journal Biomarker Research, measured multiple protein biomarkers to determine how sleep duration, time of day, and acute high-intensity exercise shape cardiovascular risk profiles.
“Nearly half of adults in some populations report disturbed sleep regularly, and shift work contributes heavily to this problem,” says Jonathan Cedernaes, physician and docent at Uppsala University and lead author of the study. To understand mechanisms linking insufficient sleep to heart disease, the team controlled diet, activity and other conditions in a laboratory setting and focused on dynamic changes in blood proteins.
Large epidemiological studies have linked chronic sleep restriction to higher risks of heart attack, stroke and atrial fibrillation. However, it has been unclear whether short-term sleep loss produces measurable changes in commonly used cardiovascular biomarkers and whether those changes can be influenced by exercise or time of day.
Study design and participants
The investigators used a randomized crossover design with 16 healthy, normal-weight young men who reported good habitual sleep. Each participant completed two highly standardized laboratory sessions: one with three consecutive nights of normal sleep (about 8.5 hours per night) and one with three nights of sleep restriction (approximately 4.25 hours per night). Meals and daytime activity were tightly regulated throughout both sessions.
Blood samples were collected in the morning and evening and immediately before and repeatedly after a 30-minute bout of high-intensity exercise. The team quantified 88 cardiovascular-related proteins using Olink proteomics panels, with selected validations by ELISA.
Major findings: inflammatory proteins increased after sleep loss
Across the panel, several proteins that signal inflammation and have previously been associated with incident cardiovascular disease rose after the sleep-restricted condition. Notably, proteins such as IL-27 and LGALS9—markers that have appeared in large cohort studies as predictors of higher CVD risk—were elevated following only a few nights of reduced sleep.
These changes occurred in young, otherwise healthy participants, indicating that adverse molecular effects of sleep loss can appear early in life and are not restricted to older or clinically at-risk groups. The time of day also mattered: many biomarkers showed pronounced diurnal variation, underscoring that sampling time can influence biomarker readouts and interpretation.
Interaction with exercise
High-intensity physical exercise induced a range of proteomic responses in both sleep conditions, including increases in canonical exercise-related proteins such as IL-6 and BDNF. Some exercise-induced proteins rose regardless of sleep duration, suggesting that acute exercise still triggers beneficial molecular signals even after sleep loss. However, the overall exercise response differed between normal sleep and sleep-restricted states, and some markers associated with cardiac strain were more pronounced when participants were sleep-deprived.
The authors emphasize that while exercise can mitigate some negative effects of poor sleep, it cannot replace the restorative and regulatory functions of sleep. Adequate sleep remains a cornerstone of cardiovascular prevention strategies.
Implications and next steps
This study highlights sleep duration as a dynamic determinant of blood-based cardiovascular biomarkers. The findings support recommendations—such as those reflected in recent American Heart Association guidance—that recognize sleep as a modifiable risk factor for heart disease. The authors call for follow-up studies to determine how these proteomic responses vary in women, older adults, patients with established cardiovascular disease, different chronotypes, and varied dietary schedules.
“Our ongoing research aims to inform better guidelines on how sleep, exercise and other lifestyle factors can be combined to prevent cardiovascular disease,” says Jonathan Cedernaes.
Funding and collaborators: The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers at Akershus University Hospital and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. It received support from the Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF), the Göran Gustafsson Foundation, the Swedish Diabetes Foundation, and Hjärnfonden (the Swedish Brain Foundation).
About this sleep and cardiovascular disease study
Author: Elin Bäckström
Source: Uppsala University
Contact: Elin Bäckström – Uppsala University
Image credit: Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access. Title: “Overlooked Trio: Sleep Duration, Sampling Time and Physical Exercise Alter Levels of Olink-Assessed Blood Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Risk.” DOI: 10.1186/s40364-025-00776-0
Abstract (concise)
Using a crossover design, 16 healthy young men underwent three nights of normal sleep and three nights of restricted sleep. The study quantified 88 cardiovascular protein biomarkers at multiple time points before and after high-intensity exercise. Results reveal time-of-day-dependent biomarker changes, exercise-induced proteomic shifts, and a sleep-restriction profile associated with higher prospective risk for several cardiovascular diseases. These findings underscore the importance of sleep duration in cardiovascular health and support further study across diverse populations.