When it comes to heart health, we often think about how our daytime, waking-hour habits can lower our risk for issues, like high blood pressure. Yet, our heart health improves when we get enough sleep: The American Heart Association lists getting a good night's sleep—7 to 9 hours for most adults—as a pillar of cardiovascular wellness.
"Sleep is one of the major ways the cardiovascular system resets overnight," states Dr. Yi Cai, MD, an assistant professor and the director of sleep surgery at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. "Poor sleep, whether from short sleep duration, insomnia, sleep apnea or irregular sleep schedules, is associated with a higher risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and cardiovascular death."
It's hard to break the habits we fall into in dreamland, but Dr. Cai says it's worth becoming aware of them, especially because too-short or disrupted sleep can affect our blood pressure. Another sleep specialist agrees.
"One very important part of blood pressure regulation is the drop in blood pressure that occurs with nightly sleep, often called the nocturnal dip," says Dr. Matthew Scharf, MD, Ph.D., the director of sleep medicine at the Hackensack Meridian Southern Region. "This nightly drop in blood pressure is important for heart health."
He explains that, when our nighttime sleep is disturbed, that "nocturnal dip" often is, too. It can increase the risk of heart disease. It's possible to avoid chronically interrupted sleep, though. To do so, special doctors want to raise awareness of a common sleep "mistake" that could raise your blood pressure overnight and what you can do about it.
Related: Neurologists Warn This Nightly Habit Could Be Secretly Shrinking Your Brain
This Common Sleep Habit Could Be Raising Your Blood Pressure Overnight, According to Doctors
Tom Merton/Getty Images
Sleep medicine doctors are concerned that people who breathe with their mouths open are at risk for high blood pressure (and may even already have it).
"Mouth breathing alone is not known to cause chronic high blood pressure," Dr. Cai clarifies. "But persistent mouth breathing can be a sign that someone has a sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea, which can affect blood pressure over time."
Besides obstructive sleep apnea, she says there are a few other reasons for persistent mouth breathing, including:
Chronic allergies or infectionsCrooked cartilage and bones within the noseSwollen nasal tissue (called turbinates) Growths such as nasal polypsMasses (rarely)Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, points out that mouth breathing is not ideal. We're designed to breathe humidified air through our noses. Mouth breathing is a flag and risk factor for high blood pressure.
?SIGN UP for Parade’s health newsletter with expert-approved tips, healthy eats, exercises, news & more to help you stay healthy & feel your best self?
"The simple truth is that not breathing well causes adrenaline spikes—norepinephrine, to be exact—which raises blood pressure and heart rate," Dr. Dimitriu says. "It's the same thing that would happen if you were being choked. Your body reacts intensely."
Yikes. Bigger yikes: "In people with sleep apnea, this happens many times during the night," Dr. Dimitriu says.
It's no wonder research links sleep apnea to hypertension.
To be clear, most of us will breathe through our mouths while sleeping every so often—that's not what sleep medicine experts are concerned about. "For most healthy people, one night of mouth breathing during a cold is not dangerous," Dr. Cai notes. "It may cause a dry mouth, sore throat, worse snoring or more fragmented sleep, but those effects are usually temporary and resolve when nasal breathing returns."
That doesn't mean you or your body are enjoying it. "It is still not ideal for getting a good night's sleep, which is exactly what you need when you are sick," Dr. Dimitriu says. "But there aren't major risks to one or two nights of mouth breathing."
Related: Cardiologists Say This Common Nighttime Habit Might Be Weakening Your Heart
The best thing you can do if you know you mouth breathe (perhaps a bed partner told you) is to determine why. Sleep apnea is the most discussed reason and a major concern for cardiovascular disease, but it's not the only cause of mouth-breathing.
"It is important to identify and treat the underlying cause," Dr. Scharf says. "That often includes an evaluation for obstructive sleep apnea, an examination of the upper airway and an allergy assessment."
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors can order allergy assessments or sleep studies. Sleep medicine specialists can also perform a sleep study. Understanding the signs of sleep apnea can also help you advocate for yourself.
"Mouth breathing plus loud snoring, gasping, witnessed apneas, morning headaches or daytime sleepiness should raise concern for sleep apnea," Dr. Cai says.
If it's sleep apnea, a CPAP machine can help, or you may need allergy medications (or both).
Related: Can’t Sleep? Sleep Experts Have 16 Ideas To Help You Finally Catch Some Zzz’s
Can Mouth Taping Fix Mouth Breathing?
"Mouth taping has become very popular online, but the evidence is limited and mixed," Dr. Cai says.
She explains that the idea behind mouth taping (which is exactly what it sounds like) is that keeping your "trap" closed may encourage you to breathe through your nose. As a result, you may experience less dry mouth, plus your airway mechanics may improve.
"However, it is not helpful or appropriate for everyone," Dr. Cai points out. "Some people mouth breathe because their nose is blocked or because the mouth is serving as a backup airway during sleep. If you tape the mouth shut in that situation, you may worsen breathing rather than improve it."
She adds that it's best to consult a doctor first because mouth-taping only works for select patients, and it's best not to guess whether you're one of them.
"It is unlikely that mouth taping would be curative of significant cases of sleep apnea," Dr. Cai says.
Up Next:
Related: ‘I’m a Cardiologist—This Is the Sleep Position That’s Hardest on Your Heart'
Sources:
Life's Essential 8. American Heart Association.Dr. Yi Cai, MD, an assistant professor and the director of sleep surgery at the Columbia University Irving Medical CenterDr. Matthew Scharf, MD, Ph.D., the director of sleep medicine at the Hackensack Meridian Southern RegionDr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep MedicineObstructive Sleep Apnea and Hypertension: A Review of the Relationship and Pathogenic Association. Cureus.Hence then, the article about this common sleep habit could be raising your blood pressure overnight doctors say was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( This Common Sleep Habit Could Be Raising Your Blood Pressure Overnight, Doctors Say )
Also on site :
- Trump pushes for last-minute changes to Iran peace draft – media
- Jif Peanut Butter's Brand-New Release Is an Epic Twist on a Classic — 'Two Pantry Legends'
- Iran-US war latest: US forces fire at ship running Hormuz blockade while Israel intensifies war in Lebanon