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If you’re sleeping less than seven hours a night, you might be upping your risk for developing high blood pressure, according to an analysis presented on April 7 at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976292f3048b7-6517-49c7-91e3-e70be6eff3a1 The study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Researchers also found that poor sleep may affect a woman’s risk for eventually getting high blood pressure compared with men. These findings highlight the important role of sleep in maintaining heart health, particularly in people who are already at risk for heart disease, says coauthor Aayushi Sood, MD , internal medicine resident at The Wright Center for Community Health in Scranton, Pennsylvania. “Doctors can use these findings to counsel patients on the potential impact of sleep patterns on blood pressure regulation and encourage healthy sleep habits as part of comprehensive preventive care,” says Dr. Sood. “We’ve known for some time that people who are not sleeping well may be more likely to have other chronic conditions, and this analysis adds to the evidence that poor sleep can affect heart health,” says Rafael Pelayo, MD , clinical professor in the sleep medicine division at Stanford Medicine in Palo Alto, California, and who was not involved in this research. Analysis Included Over 1 Million People Hypertension increases the risk for many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, dementia, kidney damage, and sexual dysfunction.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762965d2dfbf-d9b0-4d2f-820d-4302ff95422a But despite advancements on understanding and treating it, globally, the percentage of people who have high blood pressure continues to rise, according to the study authors.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629bc1753d8-0a1b-4e4f-af10-a0cde2cc127b To better understand how sleep may play a role in the development of the condition, Investigators used data from 16 studies from six different countries conducted between January 2000 and May 2023, for a total of more than one million people. Participants didn’t have a history of high blood pressure, and were between 35 to 60 years old; 61 percent were female, and they were followed for between 2.4 and 18 years. Researchers found that sleeping less than seven hours increased the risk of developing high blood pressure by 7 percent and sleeping less than five hours increased the risk by 11 percent. By comparison, diabetes and smoking are known to heighten one’s risk of hypertension by at least 20 percent, said principal author Kaveh Hosseini, MD, assistant professor of cardiology at the Tehran Heart Center in Iran, in a press release.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976294930c753-a592-466b-b1c4-494475965f57 More Sleep May Be Best for Your Heart “Based on the most updated data, the less you sleep, the more likely you will develop high blood pressure in the future. Getting seven to eight hours of sleep, as is recommended by sleep experts, may be the best for your heart too,” said Dr. Hosseini. Although the authors were able to control for age, sex, education, BMI, blood pressure, and smoking status, other factors that could influence blood pressure risk — things like diet, exercise, alcohol use, and stress levels weren’t explicitly adjusted for in the study. Also, while the study shows a relationship between sleep and high blood pressure, it doesn’t prove that the lack of sleep is what caused people to develop the condition. Stress Can Play a Major Role It’s not surprise that stress can affect both blood pressure and sleep.“So stress could have influenced these findings — stress could be causing the lack of sleep and contributing to the hypertension — we can’t know how much that plays a role in this study,” says Dr. Pelayo. If stress is the culprit, simply trying to prioritize sleep isn’t likely to help, notes Pelayo. “It could be the same factors that are causing the stress are keeping them from sleeping enough — so you have the address the underlying causes of both,” he says. The relationship between stress and sleep could also go the other direction. “If you do not sleep enough, your body could be stressed, which can also make your blood pressure go up,” says Sood. Lack of Sleep Riskier for Women Than Men When compared with men, women who reported less than seven hours of sleep had a 7 percent greater risk of developing high blood pressure. “Getting too little sleep appears to be riskier in females,” Hosseini said in a statement. Although the difference is statistically significant, it isn’t clear that amount of additional risk would make a difference in prevention or treatment — that would require more research, he adds. Pelayo agrees that it’s not clear why the risk may be higher for women. “It could be that a lack of sleep affects women a little bit more for hypertension, but that’s still not known,” he says. Hormones Could Be Reason Why Women Need More Sleep It’s recommended that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night, but there’s evidence that women need a little bit more — about 11 minutes more, on average.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297e1c27dd-b00a-48af-9c5b-e953070c12c3e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976298454db68-35c0-4c19-a7bc-7d7925916d13 There could be several reasons that women may need more shut eye:e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762958d5a7f4-ae56-43f0-8a6e-1b8b77d344f7 Women are more likely to be diagnosed with insomnia, depression, and anxiety, all conditions that are linked with poor sleep.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629afe86302-50c5-46f9-a583-99d0de1f1541e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629a4c431d9-9d2d-4c97-9d62-d8d3b5d551a4 Hormones could play a role because the sleep-wake cycle is controlled by hormones. The fluctuations of hormones during monthly menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and menopause can all interfere with the quality of sleep women get each night.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762988004bd4-a527-4f51-8f5a-0521bc10d568 Sleep Disorders Could Be Contributing to High Blood Pressure Risk An underlying sleep disorder such as insomnia or sleep apnea may also be contributing to poor sleep, says Pelayo. “Often when we think of the ‘classic’ person with sleep apnea, we think of a man with overweight or obesity, but that’s not always the case. For example, there can also be mild sleep apnea in women that can begin as insomnia, and those women often report not getting enough sleep,” he says. Known as comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea and sometimes called “COMISA” for short,e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629c0ef7f42-7244-4b84-9470-dcd003f79946 this is a relatively new concept that’s being studied, and could be part of what’s driving these findings, adds Pelayo. You Can Improve Your Sleep The good news is that sleep is a controllable risk factor — you can do things to improve it, which puts you in control, explains Pelayo. “If you notice changes in your sleep, or you’re waking up and not feeling rested, talk with your healthcare provider — that may be a sign of an underlying problem,” he says. Sleep isn’t just important for the brain — it’s also allowing the whole body, including the heart, to take care of itself, says Pelayo. “I tell my patients that sleep is the most natural and powerful form of self-care. There’s no doubt that good sleep is important for our health, and this study is further evidence of that,” he says.

• Foreplay is just play. Couples can engage in it however they want. According to Dr. Harper, it generally takes about 20 minutes of arousal for women to become fully lubricated and ready for penetrative sex. However, it is best to abolish the idea of "foreplay" and the "main event" of penetrative sex and work together with your partner to create a fun and intimate sexual life where everyone's needs are met.

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