Disrupted Circadian Rhythms, Time Restricted Feeding, and Blood Pressure Regulation

Typical blood pressure (BP) manifests a circadian rhythm, which is often disrupted in hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, and sleep apnea. Disrupted circadian rhythm of BP is emerging as an index for detrimental cardiovascular outcomes. Time-restricted feeding or eating (TRF or TRE) involves restraining the daily food intake time window to 4–12 hours, mostly during the active phase. In addition to the well-documented numerous metabolic benefits of active phase-TRF, emerging evidence indicates profound effects of active phase-TRF on BP circadian rhythm. This chapter reviews the evidence and the underlying mechanisms via which the timing of food intake profoundly affects BP circadian rhythm and briefly discusses the potential of active phase-TRF as a novel behavioral intervention to reduce cardiometabolic risk.