Getting Less Than 7 Hours of Sleep Linked to High Blood Pressure

People who sleep fewer than 7 hours per night have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure over time, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology 73rd Annual Scientific Session & Expo.

While the link between sleep patterns and high blood pressure has been reported, evidence about the nature of this relationship has been inconsistent. In this analysis, researchers pooled data from 16 studies conducted between January 2000 and May 2023, evaluating hypertension incidence in 1,044,035 people across 6 countries who did not have a prior history of high blood pressure.

According to the results, sleeping fewer than 7 hours a night was associated with a 7% increased risk of developing high blood pressure. Risk was 11% higher when reported sleep duration was fewer than 5 hours a night. By comparison, the researchers noted, diabetes and smoking are known to heighten risk of hypertension by at least 20%.

“Based on the most updated data, the less you sleep—that is, less than 7 hours a day—the more likely you will develop high blood pressure in the future,” said Kaveh Hosseini, MD, assistant professor of cardiology at the Tehran Heart Center in Iran and principal investigator of the study, via a press release. “We saw a trend between longer sleep durations and a greater occurrence of high blood pressure, but it was not statistically significant. Getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep, as is recommended by sleep experts, may be the best for your heart too.”