In our 24/7 culture, only 1/4 of Americans get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep per night.

Lack of sleep has been associated with anger, stress, depression, rapid heart rhythms and elevated blood pressure.

A large study now suggests that getting the right amount of sleep may be more important for women than for men.

In a study recently published in the Journal of Hypertension, researchers studied 10,308 middle-aged men and women for five years and found that among women who slept less than five hours per night, the risk of high blood pressure was twice as high compared to women who slept seven hours per night.

Surprisingly, among men the risk of hypertension was not increased by less sleep.

Link to article:

http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/50/4/693

For more information about this study and the effect of sleep upon heart health, contact Dr. Lisa Matzer, an expert in preventive cardiology and director of outpatient cardiac services at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, at (818) 409-3501.