Irregular sleep schedule linked to high blood pressure

>> THERE IS A LOT TO TALK ABOUT. WE HAVE ALL HAD "-- WE HAVE ALL HEARD "I WILL SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD," BUT IT’S REALLY NOTHING TO JOKE ABOUT. SLEEP IS VITALLY IMPORTANT TO THE HEALTH OF OUR BODIES AND OUR BRAINS. EVERYTHING SLEEPS. >> EVERY ANIMAL SLEEPS. ♪ FROM YOUR CAT AND YOUR DOG AT HOME, EVEN TINY FRUIT FLIES THAT WE STUDY IN OUR LAB, THEY ALSO SLEEP. SO WHAT IS IT FOR? REPORTER: IT’S A QUESTION JOHNS HOPKINS NEUROLOGY PROFESSOR AND SLEEP RESEARCHER DR. MARK WU HAS SPENT HIS CAREER WORKING TO ANSWER. TWO THINGS ABOUT SLEEP HE’S SURE OF? >> IT IS CLEARLY IMPORTANT. IT IS CLEAR THAT AMERICANS ARE NOT SLEEPING ENOUGH, THEY ARE NOT GETTING ENOUGH GOOD QUALITY SLEEP, AND IT’S BAD FOR THEIR HEALTH. REPORTER: THIS IS A RELATIVELY NEW PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION, IN THE 1950’S, AVERAGE AMERICANS SLEPT 8 TO 9 HOURS A NIGHT. BY THE 2000’S, THAT NUMBER DROPPED TO A LITTLE MORE THAN 6 HOURS. THERE’S A REASON COFFEE HOUSES ARE POPULAR IN OUR CULTURE. >> IT FEELS TO ME LIKE THE CULTURE IS WORK, WORK, WORK, AND IF YOU SLEEP, YOU ARE SOMEHOW WEAKER. >> PEOPLE ARE LIKE, I BARELY SLEEP, I WORK SO HARD. THIS IS NOT GOOD. THAT’S NOT HEALTHY. REPORTER: HE’S RIGHT. WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY IN THOSE HOURS OF UNCONCIOUSNESS IS VITAL. DR. RAYA WEHBEH IS A SLEEP DOCTOR AT GREATER BALTIMORE MEDICAL CENTER. >> THE RESTORATION OF BODY TISSUES, INCLUDING MEMORY CONSOLIDATION, GETTING RID OF WASTE, INCLUDING STRENGTHENING YOUR IMMUNITY, IN GENERAL YOUR MOOD IS BETTER WHEN YOU GET OUT OF SLEEP, SO THERE’S A LOT OF FUNCTIONS THAT HAPPENED DURING SLEEP. REPORTER: NOT ALL SLEEP IS THE SAME. THERE ARE DIFFERENT STAGES. AS YOU DRIFT OFF, FIRST COMES LIGHT SLEEP. ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER, YOU ENTER DEEP SLEEP -- THIS IS CRITICAL. SLOW BRAIN WAVES LITERALLY WASH OUT WASTE THAT YOUR CELLS MAKE. >> SO JUST IMAGINE THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF NEURONS IN YOUR BRAIN UNDERGOING THESE SLOW WAVES. AND THERE’S ANOTHER STAGE OF SLEEP THAT WE ALSO UNDERGO CALLED REM SLEEP, RAPID EYE MOVEMENT SLEEP, AND THAT IS ALSO WHEN WE ARE DREAMING. VIVID DREAMS, LIKE IN A MOVIE. AND OUR BODIES ARE PARALYZED ACTUALLY. REPORTER: PARALYZED, EXCEPT FOR OUR EYES, HENCE THE NAME RAPID EYE MOVEMENT. WHEN YOU MEASURE REM BRAINWAVES, THEY LOOK REMARKABLY LIKE BRAINWAVES OF SOMEONE AWAKE. THINK YOU DON’T DREAM? YOU DO. EVERYONE DOES. YOU JUST DON’T REMEMBER. THIS CYCLE OF LIGHT SLEEP, DEEP SLEEP, THEN REM SLEEP REPEATS ITSELF SEVERAL TIMES A NIGHT. >> BUT ONE THING THAT IS A LITTLE BIT INTERESTING IS THAT THE FIRST THIRD OF YOUR NIGHT IS MOSTLY COMPRISED OF SLOW WAVE OR DEEP SLEEP, AND THE LAST IS REM SLEEP, WHICH IS MUC -- WHICH IS WHY SOMETIMES YOU MIGHT FIND THAT YOU REMEMBER YOUR DREAM BETTER IN THE MORNING. REPORTER: HOW MUCH SLEEP IS ENOUGH? EXPERTS SAY 7 HOURS FOR MANY PEOPLE, BUT SOME NEED 10, OTHERS ONLY 6. PAY ATTENTION TO HOW YOU FEEL. AND WHEN YOU SLEEP IS IMPORTANT, TOO. >> EVEN IF YOU SLEPT EIGHT HOURS FROM 6 P.M. TO 2:00 A.M., YOU ARE NOT GOING TO FEEL RESTED BECAUSE YOU ARE SLEEPING AT THE WRONG TIME. REPORTER: BOTH DR. WEYBEH AND DR. WU SAY THE CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP AT THE PROPER TIME CAN BE SERIOUS. IT SLOWS METABOLISM, CAUSING WEIGHT GAIN. WEAKENS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM, WORSENS BRAIN CONDITIONS LIKE MIGRAINES AND EPILEPSY, DIMINISHES CONCENTRATION, LEARNING, AND MEMORY. >> IF YOU DON’T GET ENOUGH SLEEP, IT IS BAD FOR OVERALL BRAIN HEALTH, LIKE TOXIC PROTEINS THAT MAY LEAD TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. REPORTER: MORE ON ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH IN A LATER REPORT. >> SLEEP IS ONE OF THE PILLARS OF HUMAN HEALTH, PEOPLE TALK ABOUT DIET AND EXERCISE, WE REALLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT SLEEP AS THE OTHER PART THAT WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF TO OPTIMIZE THE HEALTH OF NOT ONLY OUR BODIES, BUT OUR BRAINS AS WELL. REPORTER: NEW MOM KIM SCARFE WOEFULLY HIT OR MISS. >> ON THE DAYS THAT I AM NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP, IT’S JUST LIKE, EVERYTHING SUCKS. IT’S LIKE, I CAN’T DO ANYTHING. I’M A TERRIBLE PERSON. AND THEN I AM SORT OF IN THAT MINDFRAME AND I STOP MYSELF AND I’M LIKE, WAIT A MINUTE, DID YOU GET SLEEP LAST NIGHT? AND I’M LIKE, OH, NO, I DIDN’T. ♪ REPORTER: A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO PHOTOGRAPHER-EDITOR MIKE FRENCH, WHO WAS WILLING TO VIDEO TAPE HIMSELF AND HIS CATS SLEEPING FOR THIS REPORT. [LAUGHTER] ASHLEY: THAT’S HYSTERICAL. HE’S A CAT LOVER. REPORTER: SO BIG HEADLINE HERE -- IT MATTERS WHAT TIME YOU SLEEP. NOT JUST HOW MUCH, BUT WHAT TIME BECAUSE IT HAS TO DO WITH YOUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM. WE WILL GET INTO THAT PIECE AND TALK A LOT ABOUT YOUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM. THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AT A CERTAIN TIME. ASHLEY: THAT IS HARD IF YOU ARE ON A NURSE’S SCHEDULE OR YOU WORK NIGHTS. REPORTER: IT’S A PROBLEM. IT IS AN ISSUE FOR SOMEBODY’S HEALTH. TOMORROW, WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE MORE COMMON AND MORE UNUSUAL SLEEP DISORDER

People with irregular sleep patterns may face substantially higher odds of high blood pressure than those who stick to a schedule, even when they get the recommended amount of sleep each night, new research suggests.The study, published Tuesday in the journal Hypertension, found people who slept in on the weekends or varied the times they went to sleep and woke up throughout the week were substantially more likely to have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, than those with more consistent sleep routines."This indicates that people may need to consider not only how long they sleep, but also recognize the importance of keeping a regular sleep schedule for optimal cardiovascular health," said senior study author Danny Eckert, director of the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health and a professor in the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.The American Heart Association recommends adults get seven to nine hours of nightly sleep to promote optimal heart and brain health. The recommendation is based on prior research that found people who get less than six hours of sleep per night on average face a much higher risk for high blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Likewise, those who get too much sleep – more than an average nine hours per night – face higher risks for high blood pressure, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and death.The authors of the new study note prior research examining the links between sleep duration, nightly variation in sleep schedules and high blood pressure has relied on data reported over just a few weeks.In the new study, researchers looked at sleep patterns over a nine-month period for 12,287 adults with and without high blood pressure from 20 countries. Participants were predominantly middle-aged men who were overweight. Data were collected from July 2020 to March 2021. The analysis included an average of 181 nights of sleep data and 29 blood pressure readings for each participant.The study defined high blood pressure as a systolic (top number) reading of 140 mmHg or higher or a diastolic (bottom number) reading of 90 mmHg or above. (The AHA and American College of Cardiology define high blood pressure as a systolic pressure of 130 or higher or a diastolic pressure of 80 or higher that stays high over time.)The researchers used a device placed under the mattress to measure sleep timing (when people went to sleep and woke up) and duration. They found people whose bedtimes varied by 90 minutes or more faced 92% increased odds for high blood pressure, compared to those who stuck to a regular bedtime. But even those whose bedtimes varied by slightly more than 30 minutes from night to night were 32% more likely to have high blood pressure."This is a relatively modest level of sleep timing variability, given that people often stay up late on the weekends," Eckert said.Sleeping late also was associated with higher odds of high blood pressure, but less so than not getting to bed on time. Waking up 43 minutes later was associated with a 9% increase.As prior studies have found, the new analysis also showed a link between hypertension and getting too little or too much sleep. People who got less than seven or more than nine hours of sleep were 20%-30% more likely to have high blood pressure. People whose sleep duration varied by two hours or more from night to night were 85% more likely to have hypertension than those with less than an hour's difference in the amount of sleep they got each night.Studying sleep patterns for nine months provides a more stable data set from which to draw conclusions about how sleep may be affecting heart health, said Dr. Reena Mehra, a professor of medicine and director of the Sleep Disorders Research Program at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Ohio. Mehra was not involved in the new study."If you're only looking at a span of weeks, that's a much smaller window of time," she said. "If there's something unusual going on in a person's life, that's going to impact the findings. Whereas if you look at sleep patterns in totality over a span of months, that gives you a better picture of sleep-wake habitually."While work schedules and other commitments can sometimes make it hard to keep regular sleep times, the findings confirm the need for people to "try to be as mindful as possible about sleep," Mehra said. "Do the best you can to get consistency."

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Hypertension, found people who slept in on the weekends or varied the times they went to sleep and woke up throughout the week were substantially more likely to have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, than those with more consistent sleep routines.

"This indicates that people may need to consider not only how long they sleep, but also recognize the importance of keeping a regular sleep schedule for optimal cardiovascular health," said senior study author Danny Eckert, director of the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health and a professor in the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.

The American Heart Association recommends adults get seven to nine hours of nightly sleep to promote optimal heart and brain health. The recommendation is based on prior research that found people who get less than six hours of sleep per night on average face a much higher risk for high blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Likewise, those who get too much sleep – more than an average nine hours per night – face higher risks for high blood pressure, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and death.

The authors of the new study note prior research examining the links between sleep duration, nightly variation in sleep schedules and high blood pressure has relied on data reported over just a few weeks.

In the new study, researchers looked at sleep patterns over a nine-month period for 12,287 adults with and without high blood pressure from 20 countries. Participants were predominantly middle-aged men who were overweight. Data were collected from July 2020 to March 2021. The analysis included an average of 181 nights of sleep data and 29 blood pressure readings for each participant.

The study defined high blood pressure as a systolic (top number) reading of 140 mmHg or higher or a diastolic (bottom number) reading of 90 mmHg or above. (The AHA and American College of Cardiology define high blood pressure as a systolic pressure of 130 or higher or a diastolic pressure of 80 or higher that stays high over time.)

The researchers used a device placed under the mattress to measure sleep timing (when people went to sleep and woke up) and duration. They found people whose bedtimes varied by 90 minutes or more faced 92% increased odds for high blood pressure, compared to those who stuck to a regular bedtime. But even those whose bedtimes varied by slightly more than 30 minutes from night to night were 32% more likely to have high blood pressure.

"This is a relatively modest level of sleep timing variability, given that people often stay up late on the weekends," Eckert said.

Sleeping late also was associated with higher odds of high blood pressure, but less so than not getting to bed on time. Waking up 43 minutes later was associated with a 9% increase.

As prior studies have found, the new analysis also showed a link between hypertension and getting too little or too much sleep. People who got less than seven or more than nine hours of sleep were 20%-30% more likely to have high blood pressure. People whose sleep duration varied by two hours or more from night to night were 85% more likely to have hypertension than those with less than an hour's difference in the amount of sleep they got each night.

Studying sleep patterns for nine months provides a more stable data set from which to draw conclusions about how sleep may be affecting heart health, said Dr. Reena Mehra, a professor of medicine and director of the Sleep Disorders Research Program at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Ohio. Mehra was not involved in the new study.

"If you're only looking at a span of weeks, that's a much smaller window of time," she said. "If there's something unusual going on in a person's life, that's going to impact the findings. Whereas if you look at sleep patterns in totality over a span of months, that gives you a better picture of sleep-wake habitually."

While work schedules and other commitments can sometimes make it hard to keep regular sleep times, the findings confirm the need for people to "try to be as mindful as possible about sleep," Mehra said. "Do the best you can to get consistency."

Irregular sleep schedule linked to high blood pressure

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