You exercise regularly and maintain an ideal weight. You eat well and would call yourself a health nut. You have never smoked. Now you learn that you have high blood pressure and there's no apparent reason. What gives?
If you were to ask me, I'd question your sleep habits. How much are you getting? Be honest.
Reuters reported on a new study last weekend about women who get fewer than seven hours a night on a normal basis. It's news that should remind us all the value of sleep and getting enough as a vital sign of health.
According to the latest study, so-called "short sleepers" are more
likely to develop high blood pressure (which of course further ups
one's risk for cardiovascular disease).
What's "new" about this study, though, is that it's among the first to
show a link between poor sleep and high blood pressure in the absence
of any sleep disorder and regardless of other factors like smoking,
being overweight, or living a sedentary lifestyle. Numerous studies
have linked poor sleep quality to an increased risk of not only high
blood pressure, but also obesity, diabetes, and heart disease -- most
of which have focused on underlying sleep disorders to blame for the
bad sleep. We know, for example, that people with the breathing sleep
disorder sleep apnea
are at a higher risk for health problems. But to see an independent
link between sleep deprivation in general and hiked blood pressure is
tremendous. A wake up call?
I think so. I hope so. It doesn't seem fair, but the study also pointed to this relationship being predominantly specific to women. We
haven't seen such a powerful association between sleep deprivation and
blood pressure in men. That said, men are not immune to the
health-damaging effects of bad sleep. It's just that there was no clear
relationship between amount of sleep and blood pressure in men in this
particular study.
The researchers think that lack of sufficient sleep contributes to high
blood pressure by keeping the nervous system in a state of
hyperactivity. This in turn affects other bodily systems, including the
heart and blood vessels.
The takehome lesson is clear: you can't call yourself a health nut if
you skimp on sleep. Sure, it'd be nice to get more done each day by
staying up late or getting up in those pre-dawn hours. But evicting
precious sleepytime just might come back to bite you in your blood.
So here's my prescription (my challenge to you) for the week: knock off
the last three things on your To Do list each day. Get to bed a little
earlier. And take some of the pressure off your heart and soul.