Mayo Clinic: Short Sleep Cycles Lead to Increased Blood Pressure

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found that consecutive or prolonged periods of shortened sleep can have negative effects on heart rates and blood pressure.

During the study, study participants (who were between the ages of 19 and 36) were closely monitored over a 16-day period that included nine consecutive days of abbreviated sleep (four hours) or normal sleep (nine hours).

On average, systolic and diastolic blood pressure for sleep-deprived participants averaged 115/64 mm Hg, while participants who  got plenty of sleep saw an average of 105/57 Hg. Blood pressure normally drops in healthy people during a full night's sleep, but that didn't happen among the sleep-deprived participants.

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