Irregular sleep schedules contributed to higher blood pressure, even if teens got the full recommended amount of rest, according to a new study published in the journal Hypertension .
Circadian misalignment affects the association of visceral adiposity with elevated blood pressure in adolescents
Research Highlights:
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Background
Although lack of sleep has been shown to contribute to obesity-related high blood pressure, the circadian rhythm of sleep has emerged as a new risk factor. We hypothesize that deviations in sleep midpoint, a measure of circadian sleep rhythm, modify the association between visceral adiposity and elevated blood pressure in adolescents.
Methods:
We studied 303 subjects from the Penn State childhood cohort (16.2 ± 2.2 years; 47.5% female; 21.5% racial/ethnic minorities). Sleep duration, midpoint, variability, and regularity measured by actigraphy were calculated over a 7-night period. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure levels were measured in the sitting position. Multivariable linear regression models assessed sleep midpoint and sleep regularity as effect modifiers of VAT on SBP/diastolic blood pressure levels, while adjusting for demographic and sleep covariates. These associations were also examined as a function of being at school or at recess.
Results:
Significant interactions were found between VAT and sleep irregularity, but not sleep midpoint, on SBP (P interaction=0.007) and diastolic blood pressure (P interaction=0.022).
Additionally, significant interactions were found between VAT and school-day sleep midpoint on SBP (P interaction = 0.026) and diastolic blood pressure (P interaction = 0.043), while significant interactions were found between VAT and weekday sleep irregularity during breaks in SBP (interaction P = 0.043). =0.034).
Conclusions:
A midpoint of delayed and irregular sleep during school and during days off, respectively, increases the impact of abdominal fat (VAT) on elevated blood pressure in adolescents.
These data suggest that deviations in circadian sleep timing contribute to increased cardiovascular sequelae associated with obesity and that their different metrics require measurement under different training conditions in adolescents.
Comments
Staying up late at night and sleeping late on weekends are hallmarks of adolescent behavior; However, erratic sleep patterns may have consequences for future heart health by increasing blood pressure among adolescents who have more abdominal fat, according to new research published in Hypertension , a journal of the American Heart Association .
“Pediatricians should pay close attention to young people who are gaining weight or who are already overweight and examine their sleep patterns, as a more regular sleep schedule can help them lose weight and improve their heart health in the long term,” said Julio Fernandez. Mendoza, Ph.D., the study’s lead author, an associate professor at Penn State College of Medicine and a sleep psychologist at the Sleep Research and Treatment Center at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Healthy sleep is a key factor in total cardiovascular health, as defined by the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8, which also includes physical activity, non-smoking, healthy weight, and healthy levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure.
According to the Association’s cardiovascular health metrics, adolescents ages 13 to 18 should sleep 8 to 10 hours each night.
Researchers assessed sleep, visceral fat, and blood pressure in 303 central Pennsylvania adolescents (mean age 16.2 years; 47.5% female; 21.5% black or Hispanic) who returned for repeat assessment after participate as children in the Penn State Child Cohort study. Sleep was measured overnight in the sleep laboratory and at home for 7 days using a wristwatch-like sleep monitoring device.
Using this device, the researchers tracked sleep duration and variability (to capture how much and how little the teens slept night to night), and the sleep midpoint (the midpoint between sleep and the time they woke up) and their regularity (to capture your sleep patterns over time). A sleep midpoint of 2 a.m. or later is considered delayed for a typical adolescent during the school week, and night-to-night differences of 45 minutes or more in sleep midpoint were considered highly irregular.
Visceral abdominal fat , which is the deep abdominal fat surrounding the stomach, liver, and intestines, was measured with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan during the sleep laboratory visit. Visceral fat is more dangerous to heart health than fat stored under the skin. Seated blood pressure was also measured during the sleep laboratory visit 3 times at 5-minute intervals, averaging the last 2 readings.
Among the main findings:
- Overall, the participants had typical adolescent sleep habits: going to bed later than during elementary school and sleeping later on weekends and school holidays than on school days.
- Among adolescents studied during the school year and whose sleep varied by 45 minutes or more during the school week, each unit increase in visceral abdominal fat was associated with a 7 mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure (top number) and a systolic blood pressure 3 mm Hg higher. diastolic blood pressure (lower number).
- In contrast, among adolescents whose sleep varied by less than 45 minutes during the school week, there was no relationship between visceral abdominal fat and elevated blood pressure.
- For those who slept later on weekdays (with a midpoint sleep time of 2 a.m. or later), each unit increase in visceral abdominal fat was associated with a 5 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure and a 2 mm Hg increase in diastolic blood pressure. For those who went to bed earlier, there was no relationship between visceral abdominal fat and elevated blood pressure.
- Among adolescents who participated in the study during a school break, neither a delay in sleep midpoint nor sleep regularity significantly altered the link between visceral abdominal fat and blood pressure.
- In adolescents who described themselves as "night people," each unit increase in visceral abdominal fat was associated with a 3 mm Hg higher diastolic blood pressure; Erratic Sleep Patterns Linked to High Blood Pressure in Abdominally Overweight Adolescents
