Lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure, myth or fact?

Lack of sleep is a problem that many people complain about. This condition can occur when you work overtime or due to other factors. However, lack of sleep is not good for health. This condition is said to increase blood pressure, so that it is at risk of causing hypertension. Is that right? Why is lack of sleep can cause high blood pressure or hypertension?

The reason for lack of sleep can lead to high blood pressure

Sleep is an important thing that everyone should do. By sleeping, your body rest and restores energy so that it is ready for the next day's activities.

However, in order to get these benefits, you need to have adequate and quality sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends adults get 7-9 hours of sleep a night each day. If it is less than this time, the risk of developing 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 their condition worse, so symptoms of hypertension may appear.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that someone who sleeps less than seven hours a night is at greater risk of developing hypertension. The reason is, during sleep, blood pressure tends to decrease. Meanwhile, if you have trouble sleeping and lack of sleep, your blood pressure will remain higher for a longer time.

Lack of sleep causes stress

Lack of sleep can also cause stress. The stress is one of the common causes of hypertension.

A study conducted by the Sleep Medicine Institute from the University of Pittsburgh found that stress can affect your blood pressure and heart health. The stress of not getting enough 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. Ultimately, this can lead to overproduction of stress hormones in the body.

Stress hormones, namely adernaline 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 sugar or glucose in your blood. The two conditions play a role in increasing blood pressure.

Increased blood pressure due to stress due to lack of sleep is only temporary. When your sleep has returned to quality, your blood pressure can return to normal conditions.

However, chronic stress can cause serious conditions. Likewise, if your sleep deprivation is already severe. Lack of sleep that is continuous and for a long time can increase blood pressure permanently and lead to 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 lack of sleep, you should immediately find out the cause. If necessary, consult your doctor to be able to treat the condition so that you can prevent hypertension from occurring.

Various sleep problems that can cause high blood pressure

There are several health conditions that can cause sleep deprivation, leading to high blood pressure. If this happens to you, you should immediately consult a doctor to get the right treatment. The following are possible causes:

1. Obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that makes you stop breathing during your sleep. This is a serious sleep disorder. This disorder can occur up to 30 times an hour, when you sleep at night. As a result, your sleep quality is poor and you are getting less sleep. You will also be less energized and productive the next day.

Research shows that people who have mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea have a high risk of developing diabetes and hypertension. In hypertension, this condition is generally called 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 of any age, especially people who are overweight or obese.

2. 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 makes it difficult for a person to fall asleep or wake up too early and can't go back to sleep.

Insomnia is generally caused by certain psychiatric or medical conditions, poor sleep 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. The study included 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.

This sleep disorder can happen to anyone. However, this condition is more at risk for women due to menstrual cycles or menopause, being over 60 years old, having mental disorders or certain physical medical conditions, stress, and working at night.