One Night Of Poor Sleep Quality Can Cause Risky Blood Pressure Change

Many people experience occasional nights of poor sleep quality typically due to going to bed too late, exposure to blue light from gadgets, consuming caffeine too late in the day, stress, or any number of potential issues. Chronic sleep problems are a known risk factor for a large number of serious health conditions, and a new study sheds light on how those issues may develop: one random night of poor sleep at a time.

Researchers with the University of Arizona worked to help shed light on what exactly is driving the link between poor sleep quality and the development of cardiovascular health issues. For their study, the team tapped 300 adult participants ages 21 to 70 who had no history of heart conditions.

Over the course of two days, these participants wore a portable blood pressure monitor, which randomly took blood pressure readings over 45 minute intervals during the day and night. During the night, these participants also wore a device that monitored their movements in order to determine their sleep efficiency.

After crunching the data, the researchers found that participants who had lower sleep efficiency experienced an increase in blood pressure during that night, with the jump in systolic blood pressure persisting through the next day. High blood pressure is a well established risk factor for future cardiovascular health issues.

The study highlights the importance of getting a restful night of sleep every night. Cardiovascular health risks may not be limited to chronic sleep deprivation, but also include those individual nights when you stayed up too late or repeatedly checked your phone during the night.