Study Finds Maintaining This One Nightly Habit May Help Reduce Blood Pressure - Video

A regular bedtime might be just as powerful as any blood pressure pill. A small yet striking study from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), and published in SLEEP Advances, found that going to bed at the same time every night-without changing how long you sleep-can significantly lower blood pressure, even in people already taking medication for hypertension.

High blood pressure is one of the world’s most common and dangerous health problems, affecting nearly half of American adults. It quietly damages arteries, raising the risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and kidney failure. Normally, blood pressure dips while we sleep, guided by the body’s internal clock—our circadian rhythm. But when sleep schedules are irregular, that nightly dip doesn’t happen, pushing blood pressure higher around the clock.

To explore how timing affects heart health, the OHSU researchers monitored 11 middle-aged adults over three weeks. For the first week, participants followed their normal sleep habits. Then, for two weeks, they were asked to keep a fixed bedtime, going to bed at the same time every night while maintaining their usual sleep duration. Throughout the study, scientists recorded daily systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings to track cardiovascular changes.

The results were impressive. During the two-week intervention, average systolic blood pressure dropped by over 4 mmHg and diastolic pressure by 3 mmHg. This improvement was seen even among participants already on medication. According to the American Heart Association, lowering systolic pressure by just 5 mmHg can reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events by up to 10%—making consistent bedtimes a remarkably simple way to protect your heart.

The researchers say this “bedtime regularization” is a low-cost, low-risk lifestyle fix that could complement existing hypertension treatments. Unlike dietary restrictions or expensive medications, it simply requires forming a nightly habit—one that trains your body clock for better heart health.

Their next step is to test the approach in a larger population, but the takeaway is already clear: a predictable bedtime could be one of the easiest, most natural ways to keep blood pressure—and your heart—in check.

REFERENCE: Saurabh S Thosar, Alakananda M Sreeramadas, Megan Jones, Nicole Chaudhary, Cassidy Floyd-Driscoll, Andrew W McHill, Christopher T Minson, Robert Rope, Jonathan S Emens, Steven A Shea, Leandro C Brito, Bedtime regularization as a potential adjunct therapy for hypertension: a proof-of-concept study, SLEEP Advances, Volume 6, Issue 4, 2025, zpaf082, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf082