Blood pressure naturally lowers when we sleep as the body and brain relax into a less conscious state. If you don’t sleep well, or enough, your blood pressure doesn’t decrease as much at night as it should. Even these small, nighttime changes can increase the risk of heart disease, according to studies. Improving sleep is one important way to lower blood pressure or prevent hypertension.

What Happens to Blood Pressure During Sleep?

Doctors call the decrease in blood pressure during sleep nocturnal dipping. It’s normal for blood pressure to drop by 10% to 20% during sleep. Anything less than 10% is considered abnormal, or non-dipping.

Researchers have connected just a 5% deficiency in nocturnal dipping with a 20% increased risk for death from cardiovascular diseases. Factors that impede nocturnal dipping include sleep apnea, short sleep duration, and working night shifts.

Hormones are likely at the root of the issue. During sleep, hormone levels change. Good, adequate sleep allows your body to release the right hormones to manage stress, metabolism, blood pressure, and more. If you don’t get enough quality sleep, the hormones can’t do their job.

Can You Sleep Away High Blood Pressure?

Improving your sleep may help reduce blood pressure, but it might not be enough. While adequate, quality sleep is important for managing blood pressure, it can’t necessarily cure chronic hypertension. Talk to your doctor about how you can use multiple strategies to manage hypertension, which is considered a chronic illness.

How to Protect Yourself from High Blood Pressure with Good Sleep

If you already have chronic hypertension, getting better sleep can help. Improving your sleep can also protect you from elevated blood pressure if your numbers are still healthy or borderline. Start by getting enough hours of sleep per night. Sleeping six hours or less per night is associated with higher blood pressure. Aim for seven to nine hours.

Consider talking to your doctor if you struggle to get enough sleep, despite your best efforts. You could have an underlying condition, like sleep apnea, which is strongly associated with poor sleep, high blood pressure, and increased cardiovascular risk.

If you don’t have any sleep disorders, these routines can help you fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and enjoy higher quality sleep:

• Maintain a strict bedtime and wake time every day. This makes it easier to get sleepy at the usual time every night.
• Turn off screens an hour or two before bed and do something relaxing, like following a guided meditation, reading, or taking a warm bath.
• Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and heavy meals and alcohol in the evening.
• Create a more comfortable sleep environment with the right mattress, soothing sound mixes, a cool temperature, and minimal or no light intrusions.

High blood pressure is a serious health issue known as a silent killer because it doesn’t have symptoms. See your doctor regularly, get your blood pressure checked, and get better sleep for optimal cardiovascular health.