Lack of Sleep Raises Blood Pressure in Teens

Poor quality sleep and too little of it increases the risk of high blood pressure in teens. In a study of 238 teens, 14 percent were found to have high or borderline-high blood pressures. Volunteers filled out sleep diaries and had their movements measured to determine whether they were actually asleep. Teens need nine hours of sleep a night, but the study participants averaged less than eight, and sixteen percent of them had low sleep efficiency, meaning that they had trouble either falling or staying asleep. The study authors also found that poor quality sleep was more consistently associated with prehypertension than a shortened sleep period.