Poor sleep in teens linked to hypertension

CLEVELAND, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Researchers said that healthy U.S. teenagers 13 to 16 who slept less than 6 1/2 hours a night were 2 1/2 times more likely to have elevated blood pressure.

The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, also said that the teens with poor sleep, or low sleep efficiency -- having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep -- had, on average, 4 mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure and were 3 1/2 times more likely to have pre-hypertension or hypertension than their peers who slept well.

The study involved 238 adolescents ages 13 to 16 years old enrolled in the Cleveland Children's Sleep and Health Study. Sleep efficiency and duration was evaluated at home for three to seven nights, where teens completed a daily sleep log and wore a wrist device that measures movement to determine sleep and wake cycles. Participants also spent one night in a clinical sleep lab, where, in addition to assessing sleep with standard devices, staff measured blood pressure nine times throughout their visit.

Participants did not have sleep-disordered breathing or other known health conditions and the results were adjusted for gender, body mass index and socioeconomic status.