Can Sleep Help Lower Blood Pressure?

Blood pressure is usually lower at night while you sleep, a phenomenon known as nocturnal blood pressure. Studies involving hundreds of thousands of adults worldwide have confirmed the link between short sleep duration and hypertension. Now, researchers have studied the effects of daytime naps on a person's blood pressure levels. It is important to check blood pressure at home as well as at the doctor's office.

Michael Grandner, a licensed clinical psychologist certified in Behavioural Sleep Medicine and director of the Sleep and Health Research Program, explains that they went to great lengths to recruit study participants who reasonably controlled their blood pressure levels to ensure that their findings were credible. Experts have conflicting opinions on how (or whether) sleep posture contributes to high blood pressure. Sleep apnoea is caused, in most cases, by relaxation of the back of the throat and restriction of airflow into the body. Not getting enough sleep can not only affect your daytime performance, but can even cause major problems for your heart.

Taking time to rest and sleep can help your body recover from the work and stress of the day, as well as allowing you to sleep longer during the night without interruptions. Evidence suggests that routinely sleeping less than six hours a night increases the risk of developing hypertension. Taking a low-dose blood pressure medication can reduce your blood pressure by an average of 5 to 7 mm Hg, while a nap can reduce overall blood pressure by an average of 5 mm Hg, according to the study authors. Most Americans also complain of sleep deprivation, a CDC statistic that has also increased in recent years.

They noted that there was no significant difference between the number of blood pressure medications taken by participants in the two groups. If you have been diagnosed with hypertension and OSA, or if you have high blood pressure and experience sleep deprivation, you can take steps to address these underlying issues to perhaps help you better control your blood pressure.