Have you been getting enough sleep? If not then you could be increasing your risk of developing high blood pressure. In a study done as part of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 4810 people were followed for 10 years. Those subjects who routinely slept 5 hours or less had a 2 fold higher risk of developing high blood pressure. Factors such as obesity and diabetes which are other risk factors for high blood pressure were considered, and it was concluded that the increase in hypertension was independent of these conditions.In general it is recommended to sleep 8 hours each night.
Reference: Hypertension, 2006:47:833-839.
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Photo: courtesy of Merrimack Hospital.
5 comments:
I dont have diabet and i am not fat, but still have high blood pressure.
Is it possible to reverse these effects by increasing sleep hours?
js-
That's a good question. I don't know because I am not aware of any specific studies that have addressed this specific question. However, we know that exercise, weight loss and a low salt diet can help reduce high blood pressure, so I can assume that the same may be true in this case.
Interesting observation and whilst sleep deprivation is generally something that you should avoid I think that research has generally shown that the causes of High Blood Pressure and Hypertension are wide and varied.
We have set up a support group for sufferes of High Blood Pressure and we can be found at http://www.livingwithhighbloodpressure.net if you don't mind the plug :-)
That's me!
PHORA-HR / SF-HR
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