Men who experience common sleep habit 'at risk of high blood pressure'

Health experts have sounded the alarm over a commonplace nighttime habit, as waking up frequently in the night has been connected to an increased risk of high blood pressure. Research indicates that individuals who find themselves repeatedly waking through the night could be facing higher odds of hypertension.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is characterised by the elevated force of blood against artery walls, requiring the heart to work harder to circulate blood throughout the body. If left unchecked, this condition can inflict damage on organs and blood vessels, while also escalating the threat of severe health complications like heart attacks and strokes.

Maintaining healthy blood pressure levels is therefore crucial and can be influenced by various factors including age, body weight, lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption, genetic predisposition, and dietary choices. However, new research featured in Sleep Journal reveals that sleeping patterns may also play a pivotal role in regulating blood pressure.

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The study found that men who wake up more in the night tended to have greater blood pressure than those with fewer awakenings. Contrastingly, the correlation was different for women; higher blood pressure was associated with reduced time spent in deep sleep rather than wakefulness after falling asleep.

This analysis distinctly considers how sleep's relationship with blood pressure might vary between genders. "Sleep is critical for overall health and well-being," emphasised Marishka Brown, director of the National Centre on Sleep Disorders Research at NHLBI.

Kristen Knutson, one of the study's authors, highlighted the importance of sleep for cardiovascular health. She said: "Research is beginning to uncover how sleep characteristics, like time spent in each sleep stage or how often one wakes up at night, contributes to blood pressure control, and also how sex and gender may impact these outcomes, but we still have unanswered questions."

She added: "We know sleep matters greatly for heart health. So, we're trying to find out more about this connection, and also how sleep might be linked to the gender differences we see in cardiovascular disease."

As part of their research, the team conducted at-home sleep studies on over 1,100 adults from Brazil who were free from moderate to severe sleep apnoea. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 91, with women making up 64 percent of the group.

Science Daily reported that the researchers recorded a single night's sleep using a diagnostic test that monitors various bodily functions, including brain waves and heart rate, by attaching sensors across the body. Following the overnight study, morning routines included taking blood pressure readings and fasting blood samples to assess lipid levels.

The specific lipid levels measured were total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. Upon analysing the data, the researchers noted differences in blood pressure between the sleep experiences of men alone and women alone, as well as when comparing the two sexes.

However, the researchers acknowledged certain limitations of their study. For instance, they did not take multiple timepoints for sleep and blood pressure, which means they could not ascertain if variations in sleep duration or disruptions during the night had any impact on blood pressure levels.

They suggested that future research should investigate whether modifying these sleep patterns in both men and women could influence blood pressure readings. Ms Brown commented: "This study suggests that a better understanding of how specific sleep characteristics could lead to more targeted strategies to help both women and men protect their hearts. Studies such as this continue to reiterate the critical nature of sleep in the clinical management of hypertension."

The NHS recommends that adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.