Nighttime habit could be early red flag for stroke or heart failure

A groundbreaking study has found that a common nighttime issue could serve as an early red flag for dangerous hypertension or high blood pressure.

The research, conducted by sleep experts at Flinders University, found that individuals—especially overweight middle-aged men—who frequently snore at night are more likely to have elevated blood pressure and uncontrolled hypertension.

This study, published in the Nature Digital Medicine journal, is the first to use multiple night home-based monitoring technologies over an extended period to investigate the link between snoring and blood pressure.

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"For the first time, we can objectively say that there is a significant link between regular nighttime snoring and high blood pressure," announced lead author Dr Bastien Lechat from the College of Medicine and Public Health.

"We found that 15 per cent of all participants in the study, who were primarily overweight men, snore for more than 20 per cent of the night on average and that this regular nightly snoring is associated with elevated blood pressure and uncontrolled hypertension," Dr Lechat added.

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NHS simple tips to stop snoring:

"These results emphasise the importance of considering snoring as a factor in healthcare and treatment for sleep-related issues, particularly in managing hypertension."

Snoring is a widespread occurrence, but its harmful health impacts are often overlooked. It's common for snoring to occur alongside sleep apnea - a condition characterized by sudden interruptions in breathing during sleep.

Professor Danny Eckert, Director of Sleep Health at Flinders University and the senior author of the study, explained: "We found that those who snore regularly had almost double the risk of uncontrolled hypertension. This risk nearly doubled again in individuals who snored regularly and suffered from sleep apnoea compared to those who didn't snore regularly."

New research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, included 72,269 participants aged 40 to 79 from the UK Biobank study. The study did not determine exactly how close one needs to be to the same bedtime and wake-up time – only that the further away you are, the higher the risk of harm.

The lead author, Jean-Philippe Chaput, of the University of Ottawa, advised: "We should aim to wake up and go to sleep within 30 minutes of the same time each night and each morning, including weekends. Within an hour of the same time is good but less good than 30 minutes, and even better is to have zero variation.

"Beyond an hour's difference each night and each morning means irregular sleep. That can have negative health impacts. The closer you are to zero variation the better.

"No one is perfect across a whole year, and if you don't have a regular sleep pattern for one or two days a week, it's not going to kill you. But if you repeatedly have irregular sleep, five or six days a week, then it becomes chronic, and that is a problem."

The simple act of snoring might be more than just an annoyance—it could flag early signs of high blood pressure since the disrupted sleep it causes could raise hypertension risks. Hypertension, better understood as persistent elevated blood pressure, has a notorious track record for leading to severe health complications like heart failure, stroke, heart diseases, and kidney conditions.

Drawing from data that was meticulously collected via specialized sleep trackers installed under mattresses, the study sought to observe snoring patterns and occurrences of sleep apnoea while also incorporating guides from FDA-compliant home blood pressure monitors. This global-scale investigation stretched across nine months, involving upwards of 12,000 individuals.

"If you want to quit snoring, steer clear of the NHS advises against these practices," offers NHS guidance on snoring preventive strategies.

"This is the largest study to date investigating the potential relationships between snoring, sleep apnoea and hypertension using objective assessments in people's homes, and it reveals important insights into the potential consequences of snoring on hypertension risk," remarked Dr Lechat.

Moreover, this study underscores the need for snoring to be taken seriously within clinical environments and the management of sleep disorders—emphasizing its role in the effective regulation of high blood pressure.

"The findings of this study pave the way to further investigate whether therapeutic interventions directed toward snoring can reduce hypertension and reduce the risks associated with it," he added.

If you find yourself snoring along with signs of poor sleep quality, excessive fatigue, or observed breathing issues during sleep, it's recommended that you see your GP or a specialist who might suggest a sleep study. For more details from the NHS, follow this link.