Understanding how daily stress, sleep, and hormones affect heart health in midlife women
Official title: Disentangling the effects of daily stress, sleep, and sex hormones on accelerated vascular aging in midlife women
Funded at University of Delaware · NIH-11034189 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how daily stress, sleep habits, and hormones affect heart health in women in their middle years, and it invites participants to share their experiences with stress and sleep to help find ways to improve heart health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Delaware NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | November 15, 2024 |
| Project end | October 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $440,000 |
| NIH project number | 1R21AG090810-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11034189 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are midlife women experiencing changes related to menopause, particularly those with concerns about cardiovascular health.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not midlife women or those without cardiovascular health concerns may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how daily stress, sleep patterns, and sex hormones influence cardiovascular health in midlife women. It focuses on understanding the relationship between emotional responses to stress, sleep irregularities, and vascular aging. By using accelerometers to monitor activity and sleep, the study aims to identify modifiable factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease risk. Participants may be asked to track their daily stress levels and sleep quality to help researchers gather data on these important health aspects.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to improved strategies for preventing cardiovascular disease in midlife women.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown that addressing stress and sleep issues can positively impact cardiovascular health, suggesting that this approach may yield beneficial results.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Delaware
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Greaney, Jody — University of Delaware
- Study coordinator: Greaney, Jody
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Aging Well with HIV: Alcohol, Risk Reduction, and Education Center (AWAR3E)
A center at Yale is exploring how aging with HIV interacts with alcohol use to create inflammation and frailty, with the goal of finding biomarkers and potential treatments.
-
Cognitive SuperAging: Exploring why some octogenarians stay sharp in memory
This NIH grant studies why a small group of people aged 80+ keep memory skills as good as much younger people, hoping to understand how to protect memory as we age.
-
Biological aging across the lifespan through a national high school-to-adult study
This grant uses a long-running national study of students and adults to collect saliva biomarkers of aging, alongside surveys, to understand how aging markers relate to health and life experiences.
-
Understanding how aging and Alzheimer’s affect how people make tough choices
This NIH grant studies how aging and Alzheimer’s risk change how people decide between immediate and delayed rewards and risky options, with the goal of helping older adults stay financially and healthwise safer.
-
Understanding how brain resilience and multiple brain pathologies influence aging and Alzheimer's disease
A long-term study follows older adults to learn how resilience to brain changes helps reduce dementia risk and what biological factors are linked to better cognitive aging.
-
National Neighborhood Data Archive helps researchers study aging health in U.S. neighborhoods
A nationwide data resource will help researchers understand how where people live affects health and aging, with a focus on respiratory illnesses in older adults.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.