Lack of sleep is a problem that many people complain about. This condition can occur when you work overtime or because of other factors. However, lack of sleep is not good for health. This condition is said to increase blood pressure, thereby increasing the risk of causing hypertension. Is that right? Why lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure or hypertension?
Reasons for lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure
Sleep is an important thing that everyone should do. By sleeping, your body rests and restores energy to be ready to be active the next day.
However, to get these benefits, you need to have enough quality sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults get 7-9 hours of sleep a night every day. If less than that time, the risk of disease will be easier.
One of the health conditions that can arise due to lack of sleep is hypertension. In fact, for those who already have a history of high blood pressure, lack of sleep can make the condition worse, so symptoms of hypertension may appear.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) states someone who sleeps less than seven hours a night is at greater risk of developing hypertension. Because, during sleep, blood pressure tends to decrease. Meanwhile, if you have trouble sleeping and lack it, your blood pressure will stay higher for a longer time.
Lack of sleep causes stress
Lack of sleep can also cause stress. Stress is one of the most common causes of hypertension.
A study by the Sleep Medicine Institute of the University of Pittsburgh found that stress can affect your blood pressure and heart health. Stress from lack of sleep can increase systolic blood pressure by 10 points. This fact was discovered after conducting a study involving 20 healthy adults.
This condition can occur because, when you are sleep-deprived, your body’s ability to regulate stress hormones, namely cortisol, and adrenaline, decreases. In the end, this can lead to excess production of stress hormones in the body.
Stress hormones, namely adrenaline, and cortisol are hormones produced by the adrenal glands, which are located above the kidneys. When produced in excess, the hormone adrenaline can increase your heart rate, while the hormone cortisol can increase the sugar or glucose in your blood. Both of these conditions play a role in increasing blood pressure.
Increased blood pressure due to stress due to lack of sleep is only temporary. When you have returned to quality sleep, your blood pressure can return to normal conditions.
However, chronic stress can lead to serious conditions. Likewise, if your sleep deprivation condition is severe. Lack of sleep that occurs continuously and for a long time can permanently increase blood pressure and cause high blood pressure or hypertension. As for those who already have a history of high blood pressure, this condition can worsen your hypertension and increase the risk of hypertension complications.
Therefore, if you experience sleep deprivation, you should immediately find out the cause. If necessary, consult a doctor to be able to overcome these conditions so that you can prevent hypertension from occurring.
Various sleep problems can cause high blood
Several health conditions can cause a lack of sleep, leading to high blood pressure. If this happens to you, you should immediately consult a doctor for proper treatment. Here are the possible causes:
Obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that causes you to stop breathing for a while sleeping. This is a serious sleep disorder. This disturbance can occur up to 30 times an hour, while you sleep at night. As a result, the quality of your sleep becomes poor and your sleep time becomes less. You are less energetic and productive the next day.
Research shows that people with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea have a high risk of developing diabetes and hypertension. In hypertension, this condition is generally referred to as secondary hypertension, which is a type of hypertension caused by certain medical conditions.
If left untreated, OSA can increase a person’s risk of developing various chronic diseases such as stroke, heart failure, and heart attack later in life.
This disorder usually affects middle-aged people. However, this condition can also occur in anyone at any age, especially people who are overweight or obese.
Insomnia
Another condition that can cause a person to lack sleep and result in high blood pressure is insomnia. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that causes a person to find it difficult to fall asleep or wake up too early and cannot go back to sleep.
Insomnia is generally caused by certain psychiatric or medical conditions, poor sleeping habits, consuming alcohol or caffeinated beverages, or smoking.
Reporting from Harvard Health Publishing, a study shows that people with chronic insomnia are at higher risk of developing hypertension. This study involved 200 people with chronic insomnia (occurring for more than six months) and nearly 100 people who did not experience insomnia.
The study found that people with chronic insomnia, who took more than 14 minutes to fall asleep, had three times the risk of developing high blood pressure compared to people who had normal sleep. However, this study requires further research to prove it.
Sleep disturbances can happen to anyone. However, this condition is more at risk for women due to the menstrual cycle or menopause, being over 60 years of age, having mental disorders or certain physical medical conditions, stress, and working at night.