November Canadian Pharmacy News

High blood pressure is a common problem world wide.  After doing research, researchers believe that one of the factors which plays a role in blood pressure is lack of sleep.  If so, you may be increasing the risk of developing high blood pressure. Studies which have been done in the United States have shown that Americans have been sleeping less each night than is recommended, which lead some people to suspect that there is a relationship between the amount of sleep you get each night and blood pressure. Experiments were conducted with people who were suffering from high blood pressure as well as people that have normal blood pressure. From these experiments researchers found that the individuals that were tested, when their sleep was cut short their blood pressure had increased. For more details on exactly how the study/or experiment was conducted visit:

High blood pressure is not solely dependent on the amount of sleep you get each night, there are many other factors which need to be considered before pinpointing the reasons of hypertension.  It is known that while a person is sleeping their blood pressure is low and it immediately increases when a person wakens.  Thus, on average, people would have higher blood pressure when not getting enough sleep because they would have shorter periods of low blood pressure.

James Gangwisch, MD, the lead author of the study from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York, NY tries to explain the different relationships found between the lack of sleep and the risk of high blood pressure in younger and older age groups. "First, subjects experiencing hypertension, obesity and diabetes would be less likely to survive into their later years. Second, advanced age is associated with changes in sleep architecture with increased difficulties in sleep initiation and maintenance. Elderly subjects, who are often retired, also have more opportunities to take naps during the day. Third, sleep disordered breathing is associated with hypertension in subjects below the age of 60 years but not in subjects 60 years of age or older."  In an American poll, the National Sleep Foundation 2002, the lack of sleep was associated with irritability, impatience, pessimism, and feeling tired and stressed.

All of the studies suggest that lack of sleep contributes to high blood pressure, however the link between the two are not definitively established. Much more research needs to be done to get a good understanding of the two being linked.  As a result, getting enough sleep is very important to your health, which can prevent many other problems caused by high blood pressure.