Short naps and limited sleep hours at night tied to hypertension and cardiovascular disease

Dr Ling Lin, with a team of researchers, explored the associations of siesta and siesta ratio with hypertension or CVDs in middle-aged and older adults.

The cohort study collected data from 9247 middle-aged and older adults. The associations with hypertension and CVD were analyzed in 7619 and 8685 participants using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.

The results of the study are:

• Total sleep duration < 6 h, OR= 1.168 and siesta ratios ≥ 0.4, OR = 1.712 were associated with increased hypertension risk.
• A siesta ratio ≥ 0.4 was associated with increased hypertension risk in males aged ≥ 60 years.
• In males < 60 years, the total sleep duration < 6 h was correlated with elevated hypertension risk.
• Siesta duration < 0.5 h (OR = 2.053) was related to elevated CVDs risk.
• In females ≥60 years, the sleep duration at night < 6 h increased CVDs risk.
• In females < 60, an increased risk was observed with siesta duration < 0.5 h and sleep duration at night < 6 h.

To conclude, the study's findings are a reference for the siesta and sleep duration in people aged ≥ 45 years.

The future goal of the team is to explore the associations between sleep quality and the risk of arterial hypertension and CVDs.

Further reading:

Lin, L., Huang, J., Liu, Z., Chen, P., & Huang, C. (2022). Associations of siesta and total sleep duration with hypertension or cardiovascular diseases in middle‐aged and older adults. Clinical Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.23954.