Adequate sleep is linked to a lower risk of hypertension in teenagers

The teenagers that ImThe recommended guidelines of nine to 11 hours of sleep a day have been shown to have a significantly lower risk of hypertension, according to a new study from UTHealth Houston.

Recently posted on Journal of the American Heart Association, The research revealed that teenagers had a 37% lower risk of high blood pressure events by maintaining healthy sleep patterns and highlighting the importance of adequate sleep behaviour. The research further explored the impact of environmental factors that potentially affect sleep.

Disrupted sleep can lead to changes in the body’s response to stress, including increased levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, which in turn can increase blood pressure.”

Augusto César Ferreira De Moraes, PhD, first author, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health

Using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, which tracks the biological and behavioral development of adolescents, De Moraes and his team analyzed data from 3,320 US teenagers to investigate occurrences of high blood pressure during nighttime sleep cycles. The scientists found an increase in hypertension incidents in two data periods, 2018-2020 and 2020-2022, showing an increase from 1.7% to 2.9%. The data included blood pressure readings and Fitbit ratings, which measured total sleep time and duration of REM sleep at night. The study design analyzed covariates such as Fitbit-tracked sleep, blood pressure, and neighborhood noise from residential geocodes, allowing a thorough examination of environmental noise exposure for each participant.

The scientists investigated the effect of neighborhood/community noise, but found no significant association with the incidence of hypertension. Environmental factors, such as neighborhood noise, indicate the need for long-term studies to investigate the relationship between sleep health and hypertension, particularly in relation to socioeconomic status, stress levels, and genetic predispositions.

The study highlights the importance of improved sleep behaviors and meeting recommendations. “Consistent sleep schedules, minimizing screen time before bed, and creating a calm, quiet sleep environment can all contribute to better sleep quality,” said Martin Ma, MPH, the study’s second author and a recent graduate of the school. “Although environmental noise did not directly affect hypertension in this study, maintaining a quiet and restful sleep environment is still important for overall well-being.”

Additional authors included Marcus Vinicius Nascimento-Ferreira, PhD, with the Universidade Federal do Tocantins. and School of Public Health professor Ethan Hunt, PhD, assistant professor of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences. and Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RDN, LD, regional dean at Austin and professor of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences.