Inconsistent Sleep Correlated With Increased Likelihood of Hypertension

A study of more than 2 million nights of sleep and blood pressure data found that irregularities in sleep timing and duration were associated with an increased risk of hypertension.  

Results show that high sleep duration irregularity was associated with a 9% to 15% increase in hypertension risk. A 38-minute increase in sleep midpoint irregularity was associated with an 11% risk increase, and a 31-minute increase in sleep onset time irregularity was associated with a 29% increased risk. 

“This new approach to noninvasive nightly monitoring of sleep duration and timing in people’s homes for an average period of 6 months each combined with regular blood pressure monitoring has shown us just how important having a regular sleep routine and getting enough sleep is for your health, in this case your heart health,” said Hannah Scott, sleep health research associate, Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, Flinders University. “These novel data shed new light into the restorative benefits of sleep and raise potential concerns for the substantial proportion of shift workers in our modern 24-hour society.”  

Data for this analysis came from a 9-month period using records from 12,300 adults, age 18 to 90. Metrics were recorded with an under-mattress sleep device and a portable blood pressure monitor. Sleep duration regularity was assessed as the standard deviation via device-assessed total sleep time. Sleep timing regularity was assessed as the standard deviation in sleep onset time and sleep midpoint. 

Logistic regressions controlling for age, sex, body mass index, and mean total sleep time were conducted to investigate potential associations between sleep regularity and hypertension, which was found in 2,499 participants. 
 
The research was published presented during SLEEP 2022, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Charlotte, NC June 4-8.