Sleep patterns have a strong influence on blood pressure (BP). Several studies have demonstrated the association between short sleep duration and increased risk of developing hypertension (HTN). Even a half-an-hour delay in the onset of day-to-day sleep is associated with a 30% increase in the risk of HTN. This has been corraborated by data from the “All of Us” research program. The American Heart Association has included 7–9 hours of sleep in the “Life’s Essentail 8” metric for cardiovascular health.
To understand how regularization of bettime can improve BP, a proof-of-concept intervention study was conducted in 11 adult subjects (mean age 52.7 years; mean BP 128.6/82.4 mmHg) with HTN. This study showed that 2 weeks of regular bedtime decreased 24-h and nighttime BP in people with hypertension (see the Graphic). Thus, regularization of bedtime may serve as a simple, low-cost adjunct to control BP in subjects with HTN.
(Source: Thosar SS, Sreeramadas AM, Jones M, Chaudhary N, Floyd-Driscoll C, McHill AW, Minson CT, Rope R, Emens JS, Shea SA, Brito LC. Bedtime regularization as a potential adjunct therapy for hypertension: A proof-of-concept study.. Sleep Adv. 2025;6(4):zpaf082. Doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf082)