Tuesday, March 31, 2026
DENTON (夜色视频), Texas 鈥� While Isamar Almeida wanted to be a mental health researcher from a young age, she wasn鈥檛 always sure where that path would lead.
That changed when she moved from Venezuela to the U.S. in 2019 and began working at a law firm specializing in immigration. Her work there included interviewing clients who had endured traumatic events, many of whom described difficulty sleeping.
鈥淧eople described nightmares and difficulty falling asleep as daily struggles. That stood out to me because sleep is a central pillar of overall health.鈥�
Almeida, who was already a psychologist by training, knew then that she wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in behavioral science. Once enrolled in Department of Psychology, she concentrated her research on the health and well-being of immigrant communities, with a specific focus on sleep.
Now, Almeida has published a scientific paper with significant findings for the behavioral health field. Her research, , shows a connection between cardiovascular and metabolic 鈥� or cardiometabolic 鈥� health and sleep duration. While the health risks of sleeping less than seven hours per night were previously established, this paper demonstrates that sleeping more than nine hours per night is also associated with poor health outcomes.
鈥淯ntil my third year of doctoral training, my research focused on social, cultural and psychological factors affecting sleep in immigrant communities,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 just one piece of the puzzle 鈥� we also want to understand how good or poor sleep affects physical health, including heart and metabolic health.鈥�
Almeida analyzed a dataset from the Centers for Disease Control鈥檚 National Center for Health Statistics. The data, collected between 2011 and 2014 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), included sleep data taken from wearable devices and questionnaires. Because the NHANES also included health exams and laboratory testing for all participants, Almeida was able to investigate participants鈥� cardiometabolic health and sleep data for correlations.
鈥淢any studies rely on self-report questions like, 鈥楬ow many hours do you sleep each
night?鈥� These answers aren鈥檛 always precise, so I was excited to discover that the
NHANES also had sleep data from wearable devices,鈥� she said. 鈥淯sing more objective
measures of sleep alongside self-reports helps researchers better understand the relationship
between sleep and cardiometabolic health.鈥�
To reach her conclusions, Almeida used a metabolic syndrome severity score that considered an individual鈥檚 physical measurements, fasting glucose levels, blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. While her findings showed poor health outcomes for people experiencing both short and long sleep, they showed an especially robust connection between long sleep duration 鈥� defined as sleeping more than nine hours per day 鈥� and metabolic syndrome, even when taking other factors like sedentary lifestyle and mental health issues into account.
, associate professor in 夜色视频鈥檚 and co-author of the paper, said the implications of the research are significant for the field of behavioral science.
鈥淚 think this is a signal that we need to pay attention to people who are sleeping longer than what鈥檚 typical to see what else may be happening in their lives,鈥� said Slavish, who is also the principal investigator for the . 鈥淟ike a lot of things in health and psychology, it鈥檚 not always just about 鈥榯oo much鈥� or 鈥榯oo little鈥� of something 鈥� we need to see both sides of the spectrum.鈥�
As a recent Ph.D. graduate, Almeida is seeking applied behavioral health research opportunities. While her professional journey may take her research in new directions, Almeida said this project sharpened her research skills and widened her professional network. She also hopes to continue exploring the links between sleep and health.
鈥淢ost people, including researchers and health providers, usually look at the effects of not getting enough sleep. But consistent long sleep can be an indicator of other health issues and should also be taken seriously.鈥�
From 鈥� Research