Sleep deprivation may lead to significant blood pressure spikes at night, new research shows.
In study findings presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in San Diego this week, Mayo Clinic researchers said a two-week trial involving eight healthy adults found those who were allowed only four hours of sleep a night had much high blood pressure readings (115/64) than those getting nine nine hours a night (105/57).
Past studies have also linked insufficient sleep to such chronic diseases as diabetes, obesity, and depression, as well as cancer, premature death, and reduced quality of life and productivity,
Medical News Today reports.
People who don’t get enough shut-eye are also more likely to be involved in motor vehicle accidents, industrial disasters, and medical and other occupational errors.
"We know high blood pressure, particularly during the night, is one of the major risk factors for heart disease, and Americans typically do not get enough sleep,” said lead researcher Naima Covassin, M.D., a fellow in Mayo's Department of Cardiovascular Diseases.
“For the first time, we demonstrated that insufficient sleep causes increases in nighttime blood pressure and dampens nocturnal blood pressure dipping by using a controlled study that mimics the sleep loss experienced by many people."
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