Study shows teens at risk of hypertension due to lack of sleep

NEW YORK A new study shows that teenagers who don’t get enough sleep face the risk of elevated blood pressure.

The study examined 238 boys and girls aged 13 to 16 and found that 11 percent of them slept less than 6.5 hours a night, while 26 percent of them woke up frequently, a phenomenon called low sleep efficiency. One out of every seven of the teenagers had high blood pressure, while those with low sleep efficiency increased their risk of high blood pressure threefold.

The study appears in the Aug. 19 issue of the journal Circulation.