Is your last meal of the day usually right before you wrap things up in the night and head to bed? This seemingly harmless habit could be distressing your brain and cardiovascular health, apart from spiking your blood sugar levels and preventing your body from fully digesting food and recovering for the day.
In an X post shared on February 17, Dr Sudhir Kumar, a neurologist at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, highlighted the benefits of stopping food intake 3 hours before going to sleep. He called it a ‘3-hour heart reset.’
The 3-hour heart reset
According to the neurologist, if you stop eating 3 hours before bed, your heart and brain will thank you. He further added that if you want to ‘improve your cardiovascular health without changing what you eat, change when you stop.’
The neurologist corroborated his claim by citing a ‘landmark study from Northwestern University’, which was published in February 2026. According to him, the research confirmed what many health experts have suspected: “Timing your last meal to align with your biological clock is a metabolic ‘cheat code’.“
The ‘3.5% drop’
According to the neurologist, the study found that adults who stopped eating 3 hours before bedtime saw a 3.5% drop in their nighttime blood pressure and a 5% drop in their heart rate. The most astonishing part was that they didn’t cut a single calorie. “They just moved the window,” he added.
Why the 3-hour gap?
Next, the neurologist explained that when you eat late, ‘your heart and pancreas stay on duty while you try to sleep.’ “This ‘circadian mismatch’ keeps your blood sugar elevated and prevents your heart rate from ‘dipping’, a key marker of longevity,” he further warned.
Dr Sudhir also offered a neurologist’s perspective on this claim of stopping eating 3 hours before bed. “As a neurologist, I see this as more than just heart health,” he claimed. He offered two reasons why:
- Autophagy: According to him, deep sleep is when your brain ‘cleans’ itself. However, if your body is busy digesting a heavy 10 PM meal, he noted, it then diverts resources away from this ‘critical neural maintenance.’
- Cognitive reserve: The neurologist emphasised that stable blood sugar at night prevents the ‘glucose spikes’ that accelerate vascular ageing in the brain. This is why you should avoid late-night meals.
How to implement the 3-hour rule
The neurologist suggested 3 ways you can implement the 3-hour rule:
1. First, he suggested one should set a hard cutoff for oneself. If you sleep at 11 PM, your last bite should be at 8 PM.
2. Next, he advised dimming the lights. “The study found that dimming lights alongside the fast amplified the heart-rate benefits,” he noted.
3. Lastly, he suggested extending the overnight fast and aiming for at least 12–14 hours before your next meal.
“The Bottom Line: Your heart needs a ‘rest and reset’ period. By closing the kitchen early, you are not just losing weight; you are literally slowing down your biological clock,” the neurologist offered.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
