Skip to main content

Longer Sleep Duration, Earlier Sleep Onset Linked to Lower BP in Children

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on June 19, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 18, 2024 -- For children, longer sleep duration and earlier sleep onset are associated with lower blood pressure, according to a study published online June 18 in Pediatrics.

Amy J. Kogon, M.D., from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of initial ambulatory blood pressure monitoring data and self-report sleep data collected from patients referred to a pediatric nephrology clinic for evaluation of elevated blood pressure. Associations between sleep exposures and continuous and dichotomous blood pressure outcomes were examined.

The sample included 539 patients (mean age, 14.6 years), of whom 56 percent met the criteria for hypertension. The average sleep duration was 9.1 hours per night, and the average timing of sleep onset and offset was 11.06 p.m. and 8.18 a.m., respectively. The researchers observed an association between longer sleep duration and better daytime blood pressure parameters (e.g., reduced odds of wake hypertension with every extra hour of sleep duration: odds ratio, 0.88). Worse daytime blood pressure parameters were seen in association with later sleep onset (e.g., higher wake systolic blood pressure index in association with each additional hour of later sleep onset: β = 0.07). Across sex, age, body mass index, and weekday status, associations were found to be consistent.

"This suggests that interventions to optimize sleep duration and sleep onset could serve as a nonpharmacologic therapy to improve blood pressure and reduce the burden of pediatric hypertension and its associated complications," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Vigorous Physical Activity May Preserve Cognitive Function in High-Risk HTN

MONDAY, June 24, 2024 -- For high-risk patients with hypertension, vigorous physical activity (VPA) may preserve cognitive function, according to a study published online June 6...

Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Use Linked to Lower Incidence of Epilepsy

FRIDAY, June 21, 2024 -- For patients with hypertension, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are associated with a reduced incidence of epilepsy compared with other...

Nonphysician-Implemented Multifaceted Intervention Beneficial in HTN

THURSDAY, June 20, 2024 -- For older and younger adults with hypertension, a nonphysician-implemented, multifaceted, intensive blood pressure intervention can reduce the risk for...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.