A new study from the University of Gothenburg has found that people who suffer from both sleep apnea and insomnia are more likely to have high blood pressure.
This is a major finding because high blood pressure is one of the top causes of heart attacks and strokes. While many factors can raise blood pressure—like being overweight, stressed, or having kidney problems—this research shows that sleep problems play a big role too.
Sleep apnea is a condition where a person stops breathing several times during sleep. These pauses lower the oxygen in the body and disturb sleep, often without the person even realizing it.
Insomnia, on the other hand, involves having trouble falling asleep, waking up often during the night, or waking up too early in the morning and not being able to fall back asleep. Either condition can hurt your health, but the new study shows that having both at the same time is especially risky.
The study looked at almost 4,000 adults in middle age who were chosen randomly from the general population. Everyone had a full health check, including blood pressure readings and an overnight sleep test done at home.
They were divided into four groups: people with no sleep problems, people with insomnia only, people with sleep apnea only, and people with both conditions.
Of the people with no sleep problems, only a small number had high blood pressure. About 4.5% of those with insomnia had high blood pressure, while 7.9% of people with sleep apnea did.
But for those with both sleep apnea and insomnia, the number was much higher—10.2%. This shows that the combination of both sleep problems has the strongest link to high blood pressure.
Dr. Mio Kobayashi Frisk, the lead author of the study and a doctor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, said that these results can help doctors know which patients need more attention. People with both sleep apnea and insomnia may need extra care to control their blood pressure.
Dr. Ding Zou, a senior author of the study, added that good sleep is now part of heart health guidelines. For people with both conditions, just using a breathing machine for sleep apnea might not be enough. They might also need help with their sleep habits or therapy for insomnia.
The study results were published in the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society. These findings are important because they show how poor sleep can affect heart health. Doctors may need to look at sleep more closely when treating patients with high blood pressure.
In summary, the study clearly shows that people with both insomnia and sleep apnea have the highest risk of high blood pressure compared to those with only one or no sleep problem. This combination of sleep disorders needs special attention and treatment to help prevent serious health problems like heart attacks or strokes.
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