Bad sleep, high blood pressure

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MunichAnyone who rolls restlessly in the pillow at night often has high blood pressure. This is especially true for sleep disordered people who are energized for 24 hours. “People who are monitored during the day and cannot relax are at a particularly high risk of high blood pressure,” explains Alexandros Vgontzas of Pennsylvania State University.

Constantly energized

Traditionally, insomnia has been considered a nocturnal problem. But there are increasing indications that overexcitability - i.e. chronic tension - is often behind it, which not only exists at night but also during the day.

Such a state of overexcitation can be determined with the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). It measures the time it takes someone to fall asleep, for example if they take a nap during the day. A study by American and Chinese scientists shows that the longer someone takes to doze off, the higher their risk of high blood pressure.

In total, the researchers recruited 219 people who had suffered from insomnia for at least six months. In addition, 96 people with normal sleep. On average, the participants were 40 years old.

The subjects spent one night in the sleep laboratory to check their sleep quality. The following day they were given the opportunity to take two naps, which were also monitored by the sleep laboratory - in the time windows between nine and eleven in the morning and between one and three in the afternoon.

Five times the risk of blood pressure

The evaluation showed the extent to which an over-excitable basic status demands the cardiovascular system: Around half of the test subjects needed less than 14 minutes to fall asleep. Participants who needed more time were four times the risk of high blood pressure. For those who waited more than 17 minutes to sleep, it even increased five times.

“Although people with insomnia complain of fatigue, they fail to relax. Napping doesn't work, and caffeine only makes things worse, ”said co-study director Vgontzas.

Tips for the day

If you want to get your sleep disorders under control, you should therefore not only concentrate on the evening and night, but also do something about it during the day:

It is helpful to have a regular daily rhythm with fixed getting up and bed times as well as regular meals.
Caffeine is a stimulant. So it's better to consume as little as possible.
It is just as important to consciously take regular breaks during the day.
Learning a relaxation technique such as progressive muscle relaxation or autogenic training is particularly helpful.
Exercise is also good for you: by reducing stress hormones, it also has a relaxing effect. However, you should do your jogging laps in the early evening at the latest - otherwise your body is too excited to sleep.

Tips for evening & night

Before going to bed, it is important to consciously shift down a gear:

Sleep rituals signal to the body that the time of slumber is approaching - from (decaffeinated) goodnight tea, to quiet music, to snooze reading.
Otherwise, avoid anything that could disrupt sleep. These include large late-evening meals, cold feet, and alcohol, which makes it easier to fall asleep but makes it difficult to stay asleep.
If you sleep poorly, you should make your bedroom as quiet as possible and only use it for one thing - namely, sleep. Watching TV, checking e-mails or even working, they should better be on the couch or elsewhere.
Anyone who wakes up and can no longer fall asleep should get up and keep busy until they get tired again. (cf)

Source: Xiangdong Tang et al: Insomnia With Physiological Hyperarousal Is Associated With Hypertension. Hypertension, January 2015 DOI

Tags: organ systems sleep tcm