The hallmarks of adolescent behavior include staying up later and sleeping in on the weekends, but inconsistent sleep patterns may have negative effects on future heart health by raising blood pressure in adolescents with more abdominal fat, according to new research published today in Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association. According to the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8, which also includes physical activity, quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and maintaining normal levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure, healthy sleep is a crucial component of overall cardiovascular health. Teenagers ages 13 to 18 should sleep 8 to 10 hours every night, under the Association’s cardiovascular health criteria.
Among 303 adolescents from central Pennsylvania (average age 16.2 years; 47.5% female; 21.5% Black or Hispanic) who had previously taken part in the Penn State Child Cohort study as youngsters, the researchers assessed sleep, visceral fat, and blood pressure. A wristwatch-like sleep monitoring device was worn for one night in the sleep lab and seven days at home to quantify sleep. Researchers used this device to monitor sleep duration, its variability (to determine how much or little adolescents slept from night to night), and the regularity of sleep midpoint (the interval between sleep and wake-up time) (to capture their sleep patterns over time). A typical adolescent throughout the school week is deemed to have a delayed sleep cycle if their midpoint is at 2 am or later.
During the visit to the sleep lab, the visceral abdominal fat—the deep belly fat that envelops the stomach, liver, and intestines—was assessed using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. Heart health is more at risk from visceral fat than from subcutaneous fat. During the visit to the sleep lab, sitting blood pressure was also checked three times at 5-minute intervals, with the latest two readings averaged.Said Morales-Ghinaglia, “Teenagers are not incorrect to follow their natural tendencies to go to bed later than they did as children. Instead, it’s a typical developmental tendency that prior research has shown to conflict with particular features of teen lifestyle, especially timetables for extracurricular activities and school.”
Early middle and high school start times frequently make it difficult for teenagers to get regular, adequate sleep, according to sleep specialists. Morales-Ghinaglia exhorts parents and teenagers to be aware of what their bodies require. “Teenagers need to be made aware of the value of proper sleep. Although they don’t require an early bedtime like smaller kids do, it’s still necessary for them to receive more consistent sleep for the sake of their hearts and minds.”
