Sleep variability and regularity as contributors to obesity and cardiometabolic health in adolescence.

A stable circadian timing of sleep is essential to the overall physical well-being of youth. Emerging evidence supports that sleep variability and circadian misalignment, including sleep irregularity, contribute to adverse obesity-related health outcomes early on in adolescence. Future studies should focus on the underlying behavioral and biological mechanisms in the causal pathway between day-to-day deviations in the amount and timing of sleep and obesity.