Can pressure drop in a dream. Why can pressure rise during a night's sleep. How does nocturnal hypertension manifest?

High blood pressure at night is an unfavorable sign. This form of the disease is accompanied by resistance to drug therapy and a high risk of myocardial infarction. The main causes of nocturnal hypertension are impaired kidney function, including diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea (stopping breathing) during sleep, sympathoadrenal crises (panic attacks).

Treatment is selected individually, depending on the etiological factor, preference is given to long-acting drugs.

Normally, at night, a person should have a pressure of about 100-110 mm Hg. Art. for the systolic index and 60-80 mm Hg. Art. diastolic. This refers to the time period from 2 to 4-5 hours. Then, before awakening, it rises by an average of 10 units. Blood pressure during sleep is lower than in the daytime, due to the relaxation of blood vessels, the predominance of inhibition processes in the nervous system.

Causes of increased pressure at night

Normally, at night, the pressure decreases, since the activity of the parasympathetic division of the nervous system predominates. According to the figurative expression, “night is the realm of the vagus” (vagus nerve). When the processes of regulation of vascular tone are disturbed by the brain or hormones, biologically active compounds, a paradoxical reaction of the arteries occurs in the form of a spasm.

Apnea and nocturnal hypertension

Stopping breathing during sleep is accompanied by a brief drop in the oxygen content in the blood. At the same time, the duration of the apnea period is about a minute, and the decrease in saturation (saturation) reaches 65% (at a rate of about 95%). Hypoxia is perceived by the body as severe stress, which provokes the release of adrenal hormones, an increase in cardiac output and narrowing of arterial vessels.

The features of the disease are:

  • increased pressure mainly at night and in the morning;
  • moderate growth;
  • the diastolic (lower) indicator increases to a greater extent;
  • lack of effect from traditional.

Nephropathy and increased pressure during sleep

Why blood pressure rises during sleep

If, instead of lowering the pressure during sleep, it rises, then this is regarded as hypertension, even if during the day it is normal. Risk factors for high rates are insomnia, night shifts.

What does resting hypertension mean?

Resting hypertension is an increase in blood pressure between 11 pm and 3 am. It is possible to detect the disease only when monitoring indicators - hourly measurement.

For this, special equipment is used, since the very fact of waking up the patient for measurements causes an increase in values ​​and an inaccurate result. In the course of treatment, it is still recommended to take at least one measurement per night at least 2 times a week, as well as to determine the person's pressure immediately after sleep to assess the doses of medications.

Why does blood pressure increase in hypertensive patients during sleep?

Hypertension is characterized by an increase in blood pressure during sleep. This is due to dysregulation of vascular tone by the autonomic nervous system. Normally, the activity of the parasympathetic department should prevail, then the arteries will expand, and the pressure will decrease. In hypertensive patients, the sympathetic department is more active. This happens in response to:

  • frequent stress;
  • overstrain physical, emotional;
  • stopping breathing during sleep (sleep apnea syndrome);
  • smoking;
  • drinking coffee, energy drinks, alcohol, especially in the evenings;
  • insufficient physical activity.

Does blood pressure rise when you don't sleep?

If you do not sleep at night, then blood pressure always rises instead of falling. This is due to the activity of the brain, the formation and entry into the blood of stress hormones. They cause constriction of blood vessels and an increase in blood circulation.

Insomnia in hypertension is one of the reasons for the deterioration of its course, the appearance of crises, a risk factor for such serious consequences as myocardial infarction and stroke. Especially dangerous is the combination of sleep disorders with other provoking conditions:

  • smoking;
  • elderly age;
  • menopause;
  • widespread atherosclerosis (angina pectoris, cerebrovascular accidents).

Insomnia with hypertension can trigger a stroke

Is BP related to sleepless nights, night shifts

Sleepless nights and night shifts have been proven to negatively affect blood pressure (BP) as they cause:

  • deterioration of the nervous system;
  • vascular damage;
  • depletion of the body's adaptive reserves;
  • circulatory disorders in the heart;
  • increased release of adrenaline and cortisol released during the stress response.

During sleep, the hormone melatonin is produced. It also helps to reduce pressure, as it reduces the activity of the sympathetic part of the nervous system, inhibits the formation of substances with a vasoconstrictive effect. With a lack of sleep, such changes do not occur or they are insufficient.

Why does blood pressure rise at night but is normal during the day?

Blood pressure can rise at night or in the evening, even with pills, but remains normal during the day, and the main causes of the phenomenon are:

  • incorrectly selected dose of medicines;
  • insufficient frequency of reception;
  • a combination of 2-3 drugs is needed;
  • during the day there are frequent stressful situations, high mental stress with a lack of movement;
  • there is an abuse of coffee, nicotine, alcohol;
  • food is built on spicy, salty, fatty, sweet foods with a lack of vegetables, berries, fruits;
  • there was a failure of biorhythms due to frequent night work, late watching movies, the use of electronic gadgets.

If the pressure rises at night, it is important to change the antihypertensive therapy regimen and take the main dose in the evening, and not in the morning. This option of therapy often leads not only to the normalization of nighttime indicators, but also reduces the risk of acute disorders of the cerebral and coronary (cardiac) circulation.

Why does blood pressure rise in the evening in the elderly

In the elderly, blood pressure rises in the evening against the background of vascular changes. The main causes are associated with the thickening of the arterial wall and its tendency to spasm. Narrowing and atherosclerotic lesions of the renal vessels lead to insufficient blood flow. In response, the kidneys increase the formation and release into the bloodstream of compounds with a vasoconstrictive effect.


Atherosclerotic lesions lead to insufficient blood flow

The maximum activity of this system (renin-angiotensin-aldosterone) is observed in the evening.

With hypertension in the elderly, it is especially important to control the morning indicators, since at this time there is the highest risk of acute circulatory disorders. If they are often higher than normal, then you should definitely contact a cardiologist to correct the dosages of medications. You can not change drugs and treatment regimens on your own. For older people, sharp fluctuations in pressure are characteristic in case of violation of medication, they are dangerous for the vessels of the brain.

Why does blood pressure rise in women at night?

In women, the pressure rises at night with the onset of menopause. With its severe course at night, there are hot flashes, sweating, heart palpitations, often against this background there is an increase in blood pressure. To normalize the condition, replacement therapy with female hormones or their plant analogues is recommended.

At a younger age, the metabolic syndrome is often the cause of increased nighttime performance. It is characterized by hypertension, obesity, impaired metabolism of carbohydrates (increased glucose levels during sugar load), fats (high cholesterol). For successful normalization of pressure, it is imperative to reduce weight with the help of diet and physical activity, if necessary, medications are connected to them.

At night, the pulse and pressure rise sharply: causes

When at night the pulse and pressure rise sharply, this may be a manifestation of symptomatic arterial hypertension. To exclude it, it is important to check the work of the thyroid gland and adrenal glands, kidneys. The reasons for such seizures are:

  • hyperthyroidism, thyrotoxicosis - an excess of thyroxine produced by the thyroid gland;
  • disease, Itsenko-Cushing's syndrome - increased production of cortisol by the adrenal cortex;
  • pheochromocytoma - a tumor of the adrenal medulla that produces stress hormones;
  • pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, polycystic kidney disease.

Pyelonephritis is one of the causes of increased pressure and pulse

Danger of high night pressure

The period between three in the morning and six in the morning is considered the most dangerous for the development of vascular accidents. One of the main causes of acute pathologies is a sharp increase in blood pressure. During this period, most often occur:

  • sudden cardiac arrest
  • extensive,
  • ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke,
  • and ventricular fibrillation
  • pulmonary embolism.

If at night there is no expected decrease in blood pressure, then the organs do not have time to recover after a daytime overload, this contributes to the progression of circulatory disorders in target organs - myocardium, kidney tissue, brain. It has been established that with an average increase in blood pressure at night by 8-12 mm Hg. Art. the risk of death from hypertension increases by 20 - 22%.


Myocardial infarction may be the result of a nocturnal increase in blood pressure

Seeing a doctor and diagnosing

The difficulty of diagnosing the nocturnal form of arterial hypertension leads to the fact that the diagnosis is made mainly at the stage of complications. Therefore, patients with symptoms of nocturnal awakenings, feeling weak in the morning, it is recommended to measure the pressure in the evenings and in the morning immediately after sleep. In this case, a prerequisite is the measurement before using the drugs, only in this case you can get a reliable result.

If in the evening and in the morning the indicators are not only not lower than during the day, but there is an upward trend, you need to urgently consult a cardiologist.

For additional examination appoint:

  • automatic monitoring of blood pressure using special devices;
  • urine and blood tests;
  • Ultrasound of the kidneys, vessels of the head and neck;
  • study of the oxygen content in the blood during sleep ();
  • ECG in Holter monitoring mode, with physical and pharmacological stress tests.

Treatment and lifestyle

In order to maintain stable blood pressure at the recommended level throughout the day, drugs are used:

  • long-acting (half-life more than 24 hours);
  • capable of firmly blocking ion channels and adrenoreceptors;
  • in the form of special dosage forms with a gradual release.

When monitoring blood pressure in patients with nocturnal hypertension, an interesting property of medications was found - the time of taking the drug affects the duration and severity of the hypotensive effect.

For example, Valsakor, taken at night, de-energizes the normal pressure at night, in the morning and in the afternoon, while taking it in the morning does not give such a result. Similar data are available for Amlodipine.

If you drink it at night, then the daily indicators will be lower than when taken before breakfast. Therefore, for patients with nocturnal it is necessary to keep a self-monitoring diary to determine whether the dose taken is sufficient and whether it is necessary to transfer it to the night.

All patients with a tendency to increase pressure in the evening or morning should have their last meal no later than 4-5 hours before bedtime. At the same time, dinner should be light and include mainly boiled vegetables, lean meat or fish. Before going to bed, it is better to exclude food and drinks, it is especially important to give up salty, fatty and spicy foods, coffee and alcohol.

Treatment of nocturnal hypertension: which pills can you take

For the treatment of nocturnal hypertension, you can take all the tablets with an antihypertensive effect, for the thinning of diuretic drugs. The most effective belong to the groups:

  • calcium blockers - verapamil, nifedipine;
  • angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors - enalapril, ramipril;
  • beta-adrenergic blockers - nebivolol, atenolol.

If nighttime pressure is increased with hypertension and there is insomnia, then it is recommended to take melatonin tablets. They normalize sleep and reduce the influence of stress factors. It has been established that the transition to the evening intake of drugs for night pressure helps to avoid the complications of hypertension - an increase in the mass of the left ventricular myocardium (hypertrophy), damage to the kidneys and eye vessels.

If the pressure jumped sharply at night, then to normalize it, it is recommended to put 0.5-1 tablet of Captopril or Nifedipine under the tongue.

An increase in pressure at night may be associated with impaired kidney function, periods of cessation of breathing during sleep, panic attacks. This form of hypertension is often found in older people. It is characterized by resistance to drugs that reduce blood pressure and a high risk of acute vascular disorders.

Correct diagnosis requires daily monitoring of blood pressure. Taking into account the data obtained, therapy with long-acting drugs is selected.

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  • In healthy people, blood pressure drops markedly during sleep. This is due to a decrease in vascular tone and activity of the heart muscle. When I wake up in the morning, my blood pressure returns to normal. This is the physiological norm of any person.

    But some people have a noticeable increase in blood pressure at night. This phenomenon is not considered the norm and indicates possible health problems in a person. Another important factor is the way of life.

    Causes of high blood pressure at night

    There can be many reasons for this phenomenon. An increase in blood pressure during sleep is called nocturnal hypertension. Such a process is not normal and indicates the development of pathology in humans.

    Among the main reasons for the phenomenon are:

    Reception of salt before going to bed in large excess;
    - overwork and wrong regimen of the day without proper rest;
    - lack of physical activity in a person;
    - a busy lifestyle, accompanied by frequent stress;
    - drinking plenty of food and water right before bedtime;
    - drinking before bedtime coffee, alcohol;
    - problems with the spine in the form of osteochondrosis, its injuries or intervertebral hernias;
    - diseases and defects of the heart;
    - problems with the normal functioning of the arteries.

    Sleep apnea is a common cause of high nighttime blood pressure in humans. This phenomenon is a stoppage of breathing in a person during sleep for 15-20 seconds. During sleep apnea, adrenaline is actively released into the blood, the heartbeat quickens, which leads to an increase in pressure.

    Main symptoms of high blood pressure at night

    Many people may not be aware that their blood pressure spikes at night. At this time, a person is sleeping and cannot always track blood pressure indicators in himself. Night pressure surges make themselves felt in the morning, when a person begins to complain of lethargy and a broken state.

    Over time, people with nocturnal hypertension begin to experience headaches, irritability, and drowsiness during the day. All this affects the activity and performance of a person.

    If the following symptoms appear at night, you need to think about the presence of nocturnal hypertension:

    Sudden feeling of suffocation during sleep;
    - sleep problems, expressed in the form of insomnia or long falling asleep;
    - severe sweating during sleep;
    - night chills for no apparent reason;
    - abrupt awakening in the middle of the night due to panic or anxiety.

    Similar symptoms are also associated with the fact that a person drinks a lot of coffee during the day and often smokes. The main factor is hereditary predisposition to hypertension. Professional athletes often suffer from nocturnal hypertension. This is due to their intense daily activities and tough training regimen.

    Tips for dealing with nocturnal hypertension

    To avoid this disease will help the observance of simple conditions, including:

    Avoid drinking coffee and alcohol just before bed;
    - avoid evening overeating with fatty and salty dishes;
    - do not overwork during the working day and rest in the evenings;
    - try not to visit baths and gyms shortly before sleep;
    - develop a set of measures on how to get rid of snoring (reduce weight, install an implant on the soft palate, make it cryoplasty, install a special device in the mouth);
    - make it a rule to spend evening walks before going to bed;
    - do sport;
    - eat right.

    Nocturnal hypertension is quite easy to manage by adjusting the daily routine and diet. However, if symptoms continue to bother you, you should seek medical advice.

    Those who are interested in why the pressure rises at night during sleep should seriously think about their health status and schedule a visit to the doctor. Hypertension itself is a pathology that has a devastating effect on the circulatory system, but an increase in pressure during sleep can have a much more serious impact on a person’s health and quality of life.

    In order to prevent the occurrence of nocturnal hypertension or stop its development in time, you need to know how and why this disease occurs.

    Nocturnal arterial hypertension differs from ordinary hypertension in that it may go unnoticed for some time. With an increase in pressure during wakefulness, a person notices a deterioration in well-being and immediately takes action. When this happens during sleep, symptoms of malaise may not appear either on the eve of the evening or in the morning after waking up.

    However, the general condition of the body begins to gradually deteriorate, and over time, the following symptoms appear:

    • insomnia, night fever;
    • awakenings in the middle of the night with anxiety attacks;
    • shortness of breath, asthma attacks that appear at night and during the day;
    • chills, increased sweating;
    • accelerated heartbeat;
    • numbness of the limbs;
    • puffiness;
    • pain in the region of the heart.

    As a result, a person’s sleep is disturbed: he becomes lethargic, suffers from headaches. Because of this, memory deteriorates, concentration and performance decrease. If you regularly observe such symptoms in yourself, you should purchase a tonometer and measure before and after sleep. Place the device next to your bed so you can take your blood pressure if you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night. High rates - a reason to immediately consult a doctor.

    A nighttime increase in pressure can provoke serious illnesses and cause chronic fatigue and psychological problems. Most of these disorders, in turn, can themselves cause nocturnal hypertension.

    There are many reasons why blood pressure rises at night during sleep. In many cases, nocturnal hypertension is the result of neglect of one's own health.

    The risk group includes:


    Sometimes an increase in pressure at night can be observed with insomnia. As a rule, this is due to psychological stress due to the inability to sleep normally.

    Also, an increase in blood pressure during sleep often occurs in people who have long suffered from hypertension. This is a sign that the disease goes into an exacerbated form.

    Treatment
    The first thing to do, noticing the symptoms of nocturnal hypertension, is to contact a cardiologist. It is especially worth hurrying for those who already suffer from chronic hypertension. Your doctor may prescribe medications to lower your blood pressure or, if you are already taking them, change you to new ones.

    The pills are used to lower very high blood pressure or temporarily relieve the symptoms of hypertension so that the person can get a normal night's rest. Do not start taking medicines on your own without the permission of a doctor, otherwise you can harm your health!

    To improve your condition, you must first get rid of unnecessary stress and establish a healthy lifestyle:


    Proper rest, distribution of mental and physical activity and a balanced diet will help to avoid nocturnal hypertension or even get rid of it without medication.

    The main thing is to monitor your condition and not delay a visit to a cardiologist. Otherwise, this disease can become a threat to your life.

    Night jumps in blood pressure often occur even in people who consider themselves absolutely healthy. In order not to aggravate the problem, it is necessary to be examined in time and make adjustments to the lifestyle.

    In recent years, vascular problems have become more and more common. At the same time, not only the elderly, but also young people face jumps in blood pressure. Few people are surprised when, after another stressful situation, the tonometer needle shows not the most pleasant results. But why the pressure rises at night during sleep is not clear to everyone.

    When the condition worsens after exercise, most people understand how to respond and what drugs to use. But rising blood pressure at night can raise questions. Definitely, such fluctuations are not the norm.

    If blood pressure rises during a night's rest, this is considered a pathological condition. Such jumps are a symptom of arterial hypertension, requiring consultation with a specialist and some examinations. In healthy people, indicators will always be higher during moments of physical activity, and not at rest.

    When blood pressure rises while a person is sleeping, doctors call this condition nocturnal hypertension. Such manifestations should not be ignored. If adequate treatment is not carried out, the disease progresses and can provoke the development of a heart attack, stroke and cerebral edema.

    Symptoms

    When blood pressure rises, in most cases a person feels very ill. But sometimes before going to bed everything was in order, in the morning there are also no deviations from the norm, and the condition is not the best. The thing is that the pressure increased while the person was sleeping. For some time this phenomenon goes unnoticed, but soon the following symptoms will appear:

    • lethargy upon waking;
    • difficulty falling asleep even late at night;
    • causeless awakenings with anxiety attacks;
    • feeling of suffocation and lack of oxygen;
    • fever at night;
    • increased sweating.

    If such phenomena occur due to an increase in blood pressure, they cannot be ignored. It is also worth talking to relatives. Perhaps some of them have already been diagnosed with hypertension. This problem often has to be fought by several generations at the same time, since the tendency to the disease is transmitted genetically.

    An increase in blood pressure at night is a serious warning sign. Sometimes the treatment may only be to adjust the way of life. But in most cases, it is better to consult with an experienced therapist and cardiologist to rule out serious diseases.

    Causes of nighttime pressure increase

    To understand what to do and how to be treated correctly, you need to figure out why blood pressure rises at night. It is noteworthy that even during sleep, the human brain continues to process information. However, in healthy people, this fact does not stimulate the growth of blood pressure. Rather, on the contrary, it is somewhat reduced.

    There are factors that increase the risk of developing hypertension. In the initial stages, the pressure in a person can increase only at night.


    Most often, pressure rises due to such factors:

    • a lot of salt in the diet;
    • unbalanced diet, overeating at night;
    • hypodynamia;
    • violation of biological rhythms;
    • abuse;
    • fast pace of life;
    • constant stress.

    The reasons for the increase in blood pressure often lie in malnutrition. Some people think they use a little salt. In fact, they forget that most of the products purchased in the store already contain this component. Various preserves, smoked meats and other dishes contain a huge dose of salt. Regular consumption of such food leads to malfunction of the kidneys. The result is high blood pressure.


    Often, pressure pills are required for those who do not know how to plan their time or want to do too much. The fast pace of life constantly causes unnecessary worries and fear of failure. It is very important to make a competent schedule in order to reduce such a rush to a minimum.

    Stressful situations happen almost every day. Even with a normal state of health, it is important to try to support yourself and not allow strong feelings. This can be done by reducing the amount of negative news viewed. Sometimes treatment includes taking antidepressants.

    What to do

    Not always in cases where the pressure rises at night, to reduce the readings of the tonometer, you need to take a pharmacy medicine. First of all, treatment should consist in the correction of lifestyle and habits.

    To feel good in the morning, you need to take care of a quality night's sleep. It is important to take the following steps:

    • end the work day earlier;
    • do not engage in vigorous activity before bedtime;
    • avoid stress and conflict;
    • give up alcohol and coffee in the afternoon.

    Undoubtedly, a person will notice how the pressure drops if the diet is balanced and not oversaturated with salt. It is also necessary to reduce the amount of spicy and pickled foods.

    Every evening before going to bed it is worth arranging walks in the fresh air. This will calm the nervous system and help improve the quality of sleep.

    It is better to plan a visit to the sauna, solarium, fitness and gym in the first half of the day. This will allow the pressure to normalize and be kept normal during sleep.

    If the symptoms of hypertension appear more and more often and simple methods do not help to solve the problem, you should seek the advice of a doctor. Before visiting a specialist, it is better to take some time. It is important to clearly indicate the date, time and readings. This will help to correctly establish the diagnosis and understand which pressure can be considered normal, and which serves as a symptom of hypertension.

    The attending physician will conduct an examination, examine the manifestations of the disease and prescribe the necessary examinations. This will make it possible to understand why the pressure began to rise. By detecting the disease at the initial stage, you can maintain your health qualitatively and avoid complications!

    Hypertension today is the leader among all pathologies of the cardiovascular system. According to statistics, it affects about a quarter of the adult population worldwide (more than men). Arterial hypertension is a chronic disease manifested by a periodic or constant increase in blood pressure, followed by damage to the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, nervous system and other organs. It is noted that more often the pressure rises during the day during vigorous activity, but isolated night rises are not excluded, which even the patient himself may not be aware of. An increase in pressure at night during sleep is a big problem for doctors and their patients, both in terms of diagnosis and in the selection of therapy.

    How does nocturnal hypertension manifest itself?

    The causes of nocturnal hypertension are quite diverse.

    Why does blood pressure rise during sleep? If a person is able to feel high numbers during the day in the form of a change in well-being (headache, nausea, flickering of "flies" before the eyes, dizziness, blurred vision, pressing pain in the chest), then at night in a dream the symptoms may be completely absent. For some people, the only manifestation of nocturnal hypertension may be sleep disturbance: difficulty falling asleep, sudden awakening in the middle of the night with an inability to sleep, headache. Often these symptoms are perceived as overwork.

    In the morning, the following signs may appear that indicate hypertension during sleep:

    • fatigue, feeling tired, drowsiness;
    • inability to concentrate, decreased efficiency, attention;
    • headache, dizziness, sometimes nausea, muscle weakness;
    • noise in the head, blurred vision, swelling.

    With prolonged latent hypertension, which manifests itself only at night during sleep, complications associated with damage to target organs develop: arrhythmias, angina pectoris, encephalopathy, transient cerebral ischemia. In advanced cases, myocardial infarction, acute cerebrovascular accident, subarachnoid hemorrhage, renal and heart failure, retinal damage, blindness may occur.

    Causes of high blood pressure during sleep

    Why does blood pressure rise at night, and during the day its numbers are quite normal? Hypertension can be primary (essential) or secondary, that is, develop against the background of existing diseases. Primary hypertension is an independent pathology, the causes of which are still not fully understood. It is believed that its occurrence is facilitated by a violation of the regulation of the vasomotor center, higher nervous parts of the brain that change vascular tone, as well as hereditary predisposition.

    Night pressure increase may occur due to emotional overstrain

    Chronic stress, emotional and mental factors lead to a persistent long-term spasm of small arterioles, thickening of their walls in the future, cholesterol deposition, sclerosis and a decrease in the lumen. The elasticity of the arteries decreases, and their response to external and internal influences (the level of stress hormones, changes in metabolism or body temperature, weather conditions) changes pathologically, which is why the pressure jumps.

    In addition to the causes, there are many risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing hypertension several times:

    • overweight, diabetes;
    • low physical activity;
    • high salt intake;
    • smoking, alcohol, excessive consumption of caffeinated drinks;
    • stress makes a person vulnerable to hypertension;
    • age.

    All of the above causes and risk factors characterize the development of hypertension, the main manifestations of which occur during the daytime, when a person is most active. At night, during rest, the muscles are relaxed, cardiac and brain activity is reduced, breathing and heart rate slow down. The pressure in a healthy person should naturally decrease during sleep, however, this does not always happen. Some patients have normal numbers during the day, and at night they increase. Normal pressure during sleep are numbers from 105/60 to 120/80 mm. rt. Art.

    The nature of nocturnal hypertension is individual in each case.

    High blood pressure at night (causes):

    1. Constant nervous tension during the day, worries, negative emotions, problems at work. All these factors interfere with a good night's rest, the process of falling asleep quickly, which can cause an increase in pressure during sleep. The state of chronic anxiety persists even at night, so there is no proper relaxation and slowing down of metabolism at night. The body still continues to work at the limit of its capabilities. If this situation is repeated regularly, then the pressure figures will become high not only at night, but also during the day.
    2. Plentiful food before going to bed (especially fatty, spicy, starchy foods) takes a lot of energy from the body for its digestion. Instead of proper rest, the digestive glands begin to work actively. In addition, a full stomach and intestines put significant pressure on the diaphragm in the supine position and make it difficult for the heart, lungs, and large vessels to work, which can cause high pressure during sleep.
    3. The use of salty foods during the day or in the evening contributes to fluid retention in the body, an increase in circulating blood volume, an increase in the load on the myocardium and an increase in blood pressure at night.
    4. Violation of sleep and wakefulness significantly affects vascular tone. Working at night, watching TV until the morning, going to rest too late, sleeping before lunch greatly change the circadian rhythms of a person. The release of hormones is disturbed, the level of microelements and blood sugar, the processes of melatonin production will change, which inevitably leads to a breakdown in the regulation of the cardiovascular system at the highest level, which is why blood pressure can rise at night.
    5. Snoring with sleep apnea is a very common cause of high blood pressure at night and in the morning. In a healthy person, with normal breathing during sleep, the tone of the parasympathetic nervous system increases, which creates favorable conditions for rest and relaxation of the whole organism. With short-term breath holdings (apnea), the blood is saturated with carbon dioxide, the oxygen level drops, the hypothalamic-pituitary system is activated, which causes the awakening of sympathy. Active release of catecholamines leads to spasm of peripheral vessels and increased pressure. If snoring with sleep apnea is repeated every night, then the risk of developing hypertension increases significantly.

    Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

    According to studies by American doctors, with severe obstructive sleep apnea, blood pressure (blood pressure) increases by 25%!

    Diagnosis of nocturnal hypertension

    Now it became clear why the pressure rises at night during sleep. Sometimes it is very difficult to identify high pressure numbers, since blood pressure and well-being during the day remain normal. For this purpose, it is necessary to conduct daily monitoring of pressure (ABPM). This procedure will tell you in detail about the numbers of pressure during the day: periods of increase, decrease, pulse rate, dependence on physical activity, medication, and so on.

    Additionally, the doctor may prescribe blood and urine tests, an ultrasound examination of the kidneys, and an electrocardiogram. If an isolated increase in blood pressure only at night is confirmed, then the next step is to find the cause of hypertension.

    High blood pressure treatment

    When blood pressure rises at night during sleep, treatment should be comprehensive. It is necessary to purposefully influence the regimen, nutrition, bad habits and existing diseases. You need to start by eliminating the risk factors that were listed above. Then a full-fledged healthy sleep, a regime of work and rest, a daily routine are normalized. From the diet you need, if possible, to remove salty foods, smoked meats, coffee and alcohol.

    Drug therapy is prescribed by the attending physician, based on the numbers of blood pressure during the night, in the morning, concomitant damage to target organs (kidneys, heart, retina, brain, blood vessels), age and gender. Sometimes it is enough for young people to normalize their lifestyle, balance their diet, and the pressure returns to normal. In old age, more serious and long-term treatment of nocturnal hypertension is required.

    If for some reason blood pressure began to rise at night, then treatment should begin with a visit to a therapist!

    People with nocturnal hypertension should seek medical attention

    Good results in the treatment of hypertension are provided by relaxation methods (yoga, aromatherapy, auto-training, psychotherapeutic hypnosis, etc.), herbs, spa treatment. A well-chosen scheme helps to normalize pressure, restore well-being, performance, reduce the risk of possible complications.

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