RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Insomnia may leave you feeling like a zombie in the morning, but all that tossing and turning could be causing scary blood pressure readings, too. A new study published in the journal Sleep found that people who can’t sleep have a much higher risk of developing hypertension than the sleeping beauties of the world.
THE DETAILS: Researchers studied 1,741 randomly selected men and women, some of whom reported suffering from insomnia or poor sleep for at least a year. Insomnia was defined as having trouble falling asleep for at least a year, and poor sleep was defined as having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early. People suffering from sleep apnea, in which soft tissue blocks the airway and disrupts breathing during sleep, were not included in this study.
The participants spent a night at the researchers’ sleep lab in Pennsylvania, where their sleeping patterns and blood pressure were monitored. Chronic insomniacs who slept less than 5 hours had a 500 percent greater risk of hypertension, compared with sleepers who slept at least 6 hours on the night of the sleep study. And self-reported poor sleepers who slept just 5 to 6 hours ran a 350 percent higher risk. People with insomnia who slept more than 6 hours during the study had no increased risk in high blood pressure, however.
WHAT IT MEANS: Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, even more so than often-talked-about sleep apnea. Research has already shown that insomnia can lead to anxiety, depression, and even suicide, but this study suggests it can also have an effect on cardiovascular health. People suffering from insomnia often have a higher level of the stress hormone cortisol in their systems, which could be responsible for elevating their blood pressures.
Protect your cardiovascular system by taking steps to beat insomnia:
• Plug your ears. Loud noise can startle you into fight-or-flight mode, which gets your adrenaline and cortisol pumping, making it harder to sleep and possibly raising your blood pressure. If honking car horns and noisy neighbors keep you up at night, you may want to invest in earplugs.
• Relax yourself. Yoga and meditation can help prepare your body for sleep. Exercise is great at reducing stress, but make sure it’s done early in the day, or it could keep you awake at night. Cut out alcohol and caffeine, and try eating meals at the same time every day and see if that helps you catch more Zzzs.
• Keep track. If you’re having trouble sleeping, keep a sleep log and record how much sleep you get, when you fall asleep and wake up, along with your fatigue levels throughout the day. You may find helpful patterns: Maybe you’re staying up too late watching TV on some nights, or perhaps something happens on the weekends that throws your sleep schedule off-kilter. To monitor your blood pressure and find ways to keep it under control, visit the American Heart Association’s Heart360 Cardiovascular Wellness Center.
• Find an expert. Not getting enough sleep is no joke. Your productivity can tank, but short sleep is also linked with more car crashes, obesity, diabetes, substance abuse, and trouble paying attention or retaining new information, according to the National Sleep Foundation. If you’ve been having problems sleeping for more than a few months, consider finding a sleep center to help get to the root of the problem. Treatment could include lifestyle changes, behavior therapy, medication, or all of the above.
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