Lack of Deep Sleep Tied to Hypertension

[The Northerner]

Men who get the least deep sleep each night have a higher risk of hypertension, new research shows.
Rahav Segev for The New York Times

Earlier studies have tied chronic sleep disorders and low levels of sleep to greater risks of heart disease and obesity, and even reduced life span. But the new study, published in the journal Hypertension, is one of the first to find that it’s not just how much you sleep, but the the quality of your nightly slumber that can affect your risk for high blood pressure.

The goal of the study, carried out by researchers at Harvard Medical School and elsewhere, was to look specifically at the slow-wave stages of sleep, which make up about 90 minutes to two hours of a normal night’s rest and represent the deepest hours of sleep. To study the effect of deep sleep on health, the scientists followed 784 healthy men who were part of an ongoing sleep study and did not have signs of high blood pressure at the start of the research. During the three-and-a-half year study, the men had their blood pressure checked at various times, and their levels of slow-wave sleep were monitored at home by a machine.

After controlling for a number of variables, the researchers found that the men who spent the least time in slow-wave or deep sleep were the most likely to develop high blood pressure. Although a night of normal sleep should consist of about 25 percent slow-wave sleep, the men in the study who were at highest risk for hypertension managed to enjoy deep sleep for no more than 4 percent of their total sleep each night.

Read more: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/lack-of-deep-sleep-tied-to-hypertension/

[FreeJoe]

1. One of the best moves I ever made...

One of the best moves I ever made was to quit waking up by alarm clock. I adjusted my sleep schedule so that I naturally wake up in the morning when I'm fully rested. It helps that I'm a morning person and typically wake up two hours before I need to leave for work.

[woodsprite]

2. I know when I was taking care of myself, my BP was better

with the more sleep and less caffeine. Normally, due to scheduling, I get 4-6 hrs of sleep each night now. I just can't make myself go to bed much before 12am, later if there is a kid, homework, hubby or dog crisis. This week started our back to school schedule and entails me getting up at 5:00 to make sure our son gets up/fed/ready and on the middle school bus by 6:15am. :(

I need to force myself to get back to exercising.....

[FreeJoe]

4. I start to doze off between 9:00 and 10:00 each night

I used to stay up late working. I guzzled caffeine and sugar like crazy. I had the alarm wake me up at 5:00 a.m. whether I was ready to be awake or not. I was way more stressed.

Now, we start the kid's bedtime routine around 8:00p.m. We read to/with them for a while. Then I go downstairs and read in bed for 30 to 90 minutes. I usually wake up nice and rested anywhere from 4:00 to 5:30 the next morning. No caffeine. I drink only water and a bit of grape juice. Life is so much better now.

[JackDragna]

3. Sleep is for losers!

I do just fine teaching for eight hours, going home, then grading papers and lesson planning for another six. In between, I find the time for.....uh...

zzzzzzzzzzzz.............