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Sufficient sleep is associated with a lower risk of hypertension in adolescents
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Teens who get the recommended nine to 11 hours of sleep a night have a significantly lower risk of hypertension, according to a new study from UTHealth Houston.
A study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that teens with healthy sleep habits had a 37% lower risk of developing hypertension. This highlights the importance of adequate sleep for maintaining health. The study also looked at the impact of environmental factors that could potentially impact sleep.
"Disrupted sleep can lead to changes in the body's response to stress, including increased levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, which in turn can increase blood pressure," said Augusto Cesar Ferreira De Moraes, PhD, first author of the study and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.
Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, which tracks the biological and behavioral development of adolescents, De Moraes and his team analyzed data from 3,320 U.S. adolescents to examine the incidence of high blood pressure during nighttime sleep cycles. The scientists found an increase in hypertension cases during the two study periods: 2018–2020 and 2020–2022, with rates increasing from 1.7% to 2.9%. The data included blood pressure readings and Fitbit data that measured total sleep time and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep duration.
The study looked at factors such as neighbourhood noise, but found no significant association between noise and hypertension. The researchers stressed that longer-term studies are needed to examine the relationship between sleep health and hypertension, particularly in the context of socioeconomic status, stress levels and genetic predisposition.
The study highlights the importance of improving sleep and following recommendations. “Having a regular sleep schedule, minimizing screen time before bed, and creating a calm, quiet sleep environment can all contribute to better sleep quality,” said Martin Ma, MPH, the study’s second author and a recent graduate of the school. “While environmental noise did not directly impact hypertension in this study, maintaining a calm, quiet sleep environment is still important for overall well-being.”
Co-authors of the study included Marcus Vinicius Nascimento-Ferreira, PhD, of the Federal University of Tocantins; Ethan Hunt, PhD, associate professor of health and behavioral sciences at the School of Public Health; and Dina Hoelscher, PhD, RDN, LD, regional dean at Austin and professor of health and behavioral sciences.