Irregular sleep pattern is associated with up to 15% increase in the risk of hypertension, suggests a new study published in the journal Sleep.¹

In this study, data collected from 12,300 middle-aged participants over nine months from July 2020 to March 2021 was analyzed to investigate a link between regularity in sleep duration and timing and hypertension. Majority of them were males with females comprising only 12% of the study population. An under-mattress sleep device was used to measure sleep and a portable blood pressure monitor was used to measure the blood pressure.

A total of 2499 cases of hypertension (SBP>140 and/or DBP >90mmHg) were identified. Analysis of data showed that irregular sleep duration was associated with a 9-15% increase in risk of hypertension. This elevated risk was found to persist across total sleep time quartiles.  The risk increased by 11% with a 38-minute increase in sleep midpoint irregularity; the risk increased by 29% with a 31-minute increase in sleep onset time irregularity.

Sleep is essential for the body to heal or recover from stress inflicted on the body when awake. This study highlights that irregular sleep negatively impacts cardiovascular health and persons with irregular sleep patterns i.e., day-to-day variations in sleep timing and duration, are at risk of heart disease and experience cardiovascular events. Hence, it is not just enough to sleep for an adequate number of hours, a regular sleep pattern is equally important for health and well-being.

Reference

1. Scott H, et al. 0204 Sleep irregularity is associated with increased risk of hypertension: Data From Over Two Million Nights. Sleep, Volume 45, Issue Supplement_1, June 2022, Pages A93–A94, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac079.202.