Study links sleep blood pressure in teens

Teenagers who aren't getting enough of the right kind of sleep are losing more than just a little shut-eye - they may also be increasing their risks for cardiovascular disease, according to a landmark American study released Monday. The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, is the first of its kind to examine how lack of sleep and quality of sleep can affect blood pressure levels in healthy teenagers. Between 2001 and 2004, researchers measured blood pressure levels in a sample of 238 teenagers aged 13 to 16 and found that those who have low sleep efficiency - such as being unable to fall asleep right away or those who tend to wake up too early - were 3.5 times more likely to have high blood pressure than teenagers who have a high level of sleep efficiency. The report also discovered that those who had less than 6.5 hours of sleep were also 2.5 times more likely to have elevated blood pressure levels - Canwest