Sleep Deprivation Linked to Hypertension

Votes:

7

 

2

    Views:

34

Indexed  October 3, 2011

If you’re a guy and aren’t getting enough deep sleep at night, you may be increasing your risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure). According to this article in New York Times , a study have found a link between men who aren’t getting adequate amounts of deep sleep and their likelihood of developing high blood pressure. So how much deep sleep is enough? Well, a normal night’s sleep should consist of roughly 25 percent deep sleep. To put things into perspective, the men in the abovementioned study only got a maximum of 4 percent of deep sleep per night. The reason why deep sleep is so important is because it’s during this stage of sleep that the brain’s electrical activity slows down…along with a person’s heart rate, adrenaline levels and yes, blood pressure. In addition to this, during deep sleep, the different parts of your brain that release hormones and other chemicals that influence your blood pressure interact with each other and help control the ‘necessary’ drop in blood pressure when you’re sleeping like a baby. However, if you aren’t entering this deep sleep stage long enough or often enough, this may interfere with these brain mediators and other brain signals that help manage your blood pressure. This is why it’s so important to ensure you’re getting most from your sleep…especially deep sleep.    See the complete post here