Sleep and Its Effect on Blood Pressure

Snoozin’. Hitting the hay. Catching Zs. Whatever you call it, sleep is incredibly important to our overall health. But do you know how it impacts your blood pressure?

A regular lack of sleep may lead to high blood pressure (also called hypertension) — which itself can increase your risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is when your blood flows at a higher-than-normal pressure through your arteries, which carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body.

Excessive pressure on the artery walls can damage blood vessels and organs over time and increase your risk for several health complications, including heart failure, dementia and kidney failure.

Do you know your blood pressure numbers? Check out the chart at the bottom of this article to see where you fall. 

The connection between sleep and blood pressure

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting enough sleep can help lower your risk of high blood pressure.

So, what’s “enough”? For adults aged 65 and older, the CDC recommends 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. If you’re having trouble reaching this goal , check out these tips. 

Additionally, certain sleep disorders can also lead to high blood pressure

Obstructive sleep apnea — the most common sleep-related breathing disorder — is actually a cause of high blood pressure.

Obstructive sleep apnea disrupts your sleep by causing you to repeatedly stop and start breathing throughout the night. This happens because the muscles in the back of the throat relax and block the airway. 

The result? A bad night’s sleep. 
And that’s no good — whether for your blood pressure or your coffee consumption.