Good Night's Sleep Wards Off High Blood Pressure in Teens
By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13, 2024 -- High blood pressure is a rare health issue among teens, but U.S. case numbers are creeping upwards.
Now, research published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association, shows that healthy sleep can help keep hypertension at bay in the young.
That's probably because "disrupted sleep can lead to changes in the body's stress response, including elevated levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which in turn can increase blood pressure," explained study first author Augusto César Ferreira De Moraes. He's an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, in Houston.
As the researchers noted, high blood pressure can affect a teenager: Data shows that about 1.7% of U.S. adolescents (averaging about 14 years of age) were diagnosed with hypertension in 2018-2020, and that number rose to 2.9% by 2020-2022.
The new study looked at the same dataset, which included more than 3,300 kids who wore Fitbits that tracked their daytime activity and nighttime total sleep time, as well as their REM (deep) sleep.
The study found that adolescents who got the age-recommended 9 to 11 hours of sleep nightly had a 37% lowered odds for high blood pressure "incidents," compared to those who didn't.
Certain factors, such as the noise level of the neighborhood the teen lived in, didn't impact the results, De Moraes and colleagues noted.
There are ways to encourage better sleep during the teenage years, said study co-author and graduate student Martin Ma.
"Consistent sleep schedules, minimizing screen time before bed, and creating a calm, quiet sleep environment can all contribute to better sleep quality," he said in a university news release. And, "although environmental noise didn't directly affect hypertension in this study, maintaining a quiet and restful sleep environment is still important for overall well-being."
Sources
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Nov. 12, 2024
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted November 2024
Read this next
Studies Address Muscle Loss Caused By GLP-1 Drugs, such as Ozempic and Zepbound
TUESDAY, June 24, 2025 — GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound are great at promoting weight loss, but they also cause folks to lose muscle along with fat. Experts are now...
Rival GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drug, Ecnoglutide, Emerges From China
TUESDAY, June 24, 2025 — A new Chinese-developed GLP-1 weight loss drug could prove a new competitor to blockbuster drugs Ozempic/Wegovy and Zepbound, clinical trial results...
Weighted Vests Don't Protect Bone Health In Dieting Seniors, Trial Says
TUESDAY, June 24, 2025 — Weighted vests have been touted as a potential means of warding off osteoporosis while losing weight. The idea is that the extra weight will...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.