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Research has uncovered a fascinating link between how we perceive our sleep adn its impact on our health. Specifically, a study revealed that individuals who *feel* their sleep quality is poor, even if they technically get the recommended amount of sleep, may experience higher systolic blood pressure. This effect was particularly noticeable in participants aged 49 or younger.
Previous studies frequently enough overlooked the relationship between subjective sleep quality and blood pressure, especially when sleep duration wasn’t a factor. While it’s common for poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration to go hand in hand, this isn’t always the case.This new study took a fresh approach by focusing exclusively on individuals who slept 6 to 7.9 hours per night—optimal sleep duration—and asked whether their perceived sleep quality still influenced their blood pressure.
The study,conducted on 169 residents (91 of whom were female) from the remote island of Yonaguni in Okinawa,Japan,aimed to explore this connection. Participants completed two questionnaires: one designed by researchers and another,the Yonaguni dietary survey,which was part of the local health check-up programme. The data collected included sleep quality assessments, age, lifestyle habits, and medical history.
Using the Japanese-translated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), researchers found that 30.2% of participants reported poor sleep quality. Interestingly,among participants aged 49 or younger,those with poor sleep quality had notably higher systolic blood pressure levels compared to those with good sleep quality—127.8 mm Hg versus 121.0 mm Hg.
“To our knowledge, our study is the first to focus on individuals with optimal sleep duration and to suggest that an individual’s simple subjective feeling of poor sleep quality may be a marker for increased blood pressure even in these individuals,” wrote the researchers.
For those aged 50 and above, the differences in blood pressure between good and poor sleep quality groups were less pronounced.Investigators hypothesized that this could be due to the sympathetic nervous system becoming less responsive to stimuli as we age.
The study did have some limitations, including non-standardized blood pressure measurements, lack of data on sleep apnea, and the unique setting of a remote island, which might limit the applicability of the findings to broader populations.
“These findings highlight the importance of easily assessing simple subjective sleep quality in clinical settings even in individuals with optimal sleep duration, in order to prevent and manage hypertension,” concluded the researchers.
References
- Taira K, Fukumine Y, Nakamura K. Simple Subjective Sleep Quality and Blood Pressure in Individuals With Optimal Sleep Duration: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Clin Med Res. 2024 Dec;16(12):600-607. doi: 10.14740/jocmr6136. Epub 2024 Dec 20. PMID: 39759490; PMCID: PMC11699869.
- Chen S, Song X, Shi H, Li J, Ma S, Chen L, Lu Y. et al. Association between sleep quality and hypertension in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional analysis in the Tianning cohort. Nat Sci Sleep. 2022;14:2097–2105. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S388535.
