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Not getting enough sleep? You could be at risk for hypertension, according to a study recently published in the journal Hypertension.

 

When you sleep for only short periods of time over a long period of time, your average 24-hour blood pressure and heart rate go up, according to the researchers. That could make your cardiovascular system work harder.

  
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The study analyzed data from more than 4,800 people ages 32 to 86 years. Participants who were in the 32- to 59-year-old age bracket and who slept less than 6 hours a night had more than twice the risk of hypertension than those who slept more.

 

Additional research is needed to confirm the possible link between sleep deprivation and hypertension. The good news is that steps that increase the amount and quality of sleep may make sleep deprivation one of the modifiable risk factors for hypertension.

 

SOURCE

 

Gangwisch JE, et al. Short sleep duration as a risk factor for hypertension: Analyses of the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Hypertension. 47(5):833-839, May 2006.