Going to bed early lowers blood pressure – Study

A new study says sleeping an hour earlier each night can lower high blood pressure in just six weeks, writesMAUREEN AZUHhey

Researchers, in a new study, have discovered that sleeping early – precisely an hour before an individual’s usual bedtime – could help keep high blood pressure away.

The report, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, December 4, 2012, was carried out by researchers at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. The researchers say people who were showing early signs of high blood pressure were able to restore readings to healthy levels in just six weeks, with an extra hour in bed every other night.

They looked at men and women who regularly slept for only seven hours or less a night, and were beginning to have borderline high blood pressure readings. According to reports, high blood pressure or hypertension affects one in five adults and is thought to be responsible for half of all heart attacks and strokes. This alarming situation, the researchers said, prompted them to carry out the study.

It is also said that despite the availability of several drugs for such ailments, it is estimated that more people still have readings in the danger zone above 140mmHg/90mmHg, a measure of the amount of force inside arteries when the heart is forcing blood through them and the force when it relaxes.

Stress, lack of sleep and a stressful lifestyle have for a long time been associated with an increased risk of the condition. However, the study – reportedly one of the first to prove so – states that blood pressure can be brought under control by simply increasing sleep duration.

The researchers say they recruited 22 middle aged men and women who either had pre-hypertension, where their readings were not excessively high but had been increasing and were on target to reach dangerous levels. They add that the volunteers all claimed to sleep seven hours or less a night.

During the study, 13 participants in the group were asked to extend their sleeping patterns by getting to bed an hour earlier than their normal time, over a six weeks period, while the rest were told to stick to their normal sleeping routines.

All participants were also asked to wear monitors to check their blood pressure round-the-clock and underwent blood and urine checks too. The results, according to the researchers, showed the extended sleep group managed to get at least 35 minutes extra in bed. As a result, their average blood pressure readings dropped sharply by between eight and 14mmHg.

In a report on their findings the researchers posit that extra sleep could soon be prescribed as a remedy for high blood pressure; as it is thought that too little sleep affects the body’s ability to deal with stress hormones that can drive up blood pressure.

They add that this preliminary finding has to be interpreted with caution, but future investigations should look at whether increasing sleep duration serves as an effective strategy in the treatment of hypertension.

In spite of the researchers’ call for caution in the interpretation of their study, another report highlights the benefit of going to bed early.

It says sleeping for an hour or more extra a night could dramatically improve an individual’s alertness and reduce their sensitivity to pain. The researchers say getting nearly 10 hours a night – rather than the recommended eight – is more effective at reducing pain than taking the popular painkilling drug, codeine.

The study, published in the journal, Sleep, December 1, was carried out by researchers from the US. They used 18 healthy, pain-free volunteers who were randomly assigned either four nights of their normal sleep pattern or four nights of ten hours in bed, for their study.

They say they measured daytime sleepiness, using the multiple sleep latency tests – a standard method used by doctors to diagnose sleep problems in which brain waves, eye movement, heart rate and muscle tone are measured. Pain sensitivity was also assessed using a heat source. 

According to them, the results showed the extended sleep group slept 1.8 hours more per night than those on a regular sleeping pattern. This was associated with increased daytime alertness and significantly less pain sensitivity. Those getting more sleep were able to keep their fingers on a heat source for 25 per cent longer, showing a loss of pain sensitivity.

The researchers say their finding revealed that the magnitude of this increase is greater than the effect found in a previous study of 60mg  of codeine; combined with data from previous research. It suggests increased pain sensitivity in tired people is the result of their underlying sleeplessness.

Expert in sleep disorder and treatment at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, US, Dr Timothy Roehrs, says the results suggest the importance of adequate sleep in various chronic pain conditions or in preparation for elective surgical procedures.

“We were surprised by the magnitude of the reduction in pain sensitivity, when compared to the reduction produced by taking codeine,” he says.

Longer sleep times may also counteract genetic factors related to weight gain, another study says.

Examining sleep and Body Mass Index in twins, it found that sleeping more than nine hours a night may actually suppress genetic influences on body weight.

Other benefits of sleeping early:

Sleeping early is important for the liver’s health

There is no better way to avoid liver disease rather than preventing the disease as early as possible. And sleeping is an essential thing we must do to prevent liver disease as from 11.00pm till 01.00am, detoxification process in our livers occur. This process will be optimal when we sleep deeply. Sleeping early, help the liver work well.

Antibody system

Researches have shown that when healthy people sleep too late, their body will be susceptible to infection. This is because at 9.00pm till 11.00pm detoxification process in our lymph gland occurs. This process must happen in calm situations. If someone still works from 9.00pm till 11.00 continuously, it will bring negative impact to his/her health. That’s why research also shows that every hour of sleep we get before midnight is twice as beneficial as the hours after midnight.

Metabolism

There are some persons who have the habit of sleeping too late  – after midnight – and waking up early afternoon. They think it is all right as long as their sleeping duration is fulfilled but this disorganises the exile of useless substances from our body. Our ability to sustain exertion is as vital to our health as what we eat and drink.

There is no substitute for sleeping at night. Some people take a nap in the afternoon. It still cannot substitute the benefits we get when we sleep at night. Without enough sleep in the night we lose our ability to concentrate and make complex decisions. Sufficient sleep at night is the foremost factor in a person’s ability to sustain a high performance level, cope with stress, and feel a sense of satisfaction in life. Getting enough sleep directly impacts our moods and emotions, our ability to think creatively and respond quickly.

—Source: about.com