Going to bed at the same time every night could lower blood pressure

A recently published paper, “Bedtime regularization as a potential adjunct therapy for hypertension, a proof-of-concept study,” from a team of scientists at the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences suggests that a regular bedtime could have a beneficial effect on blood pressure for individuals with hypertension. 

A simple intervention with surprising results 

It's one of the easiest health interventions imaginable: going to bed at the same time (or close to the same time) every night. Yet, according to OccHealthSci Associate Professor Saurabh Thosar, Ph.D., this approach could meaningfully reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension—a condition that affects nearly half of American adults. 

In a proof-of-concept study published in the journal SLEEP Advances, Thosar and Research Assistant Professor Leandro Campos de Brito, Ph.D. found that people with hypertension who stuck to a consistent bedtime for two weeks experienced significant drops in their blood pressure, particularly during nighttime hours. The intervention worked even for participants already taking medications to treat hypertension. 

The researchers recruited 11 middle-aged adults with hypertension to conduct the study. After monitoring participants' normal sleep patterns for a week, the research team asked them to choose a bedtime and stick to it for two weeks, avoiding daytime naps. Participants weren't told to sleep more or less—just more regularly. 

Clinically meaningful reductions 

The results were striking. Participants' bedtimes, which initially varied from night to night by on average 30 minutes, dropped to just seven minutes of variability. That consistency translated into cardiovascular benefits: 24-hour blood pressure dropped by 4 mmHg systolic and 3 mmHg diastolic—reductions comparable to regular exercise or salt reduction. Nighttime blood pressure saw even larger decreases of 5 mmHg systolic and 4 mmHg diastolic. 

Those numbers may sound modest, but a 5 mmHg reduction in nighttime blood pressure can lower cardiovascular event risk by more than 10 percent. Half the participants decreased their blood pressure beyond the point indicating positive physiological change. 

The circadian connection 

Large population studies have linked irregular sleep patterns to cardiovascular risk. One study found that a half-hour increase in day-to-day sleep onset time raises hypertension risk by more than 30 percent. 

Brito and Thosar suspect irregular bedtimes disrupt the body's circadian timing system, which regulates both sleep-wake cycles and cardiovascular function. Blood pressure normally dips during nighttime sleep, and people whose blood pressure doesn't dip adequately face higher cardiovascular risks. Regularizing bedtime may strengthen circadian rhythms and restore healthier blood pressure patterns, the study suggests.  

Next steps and implications 

This was a small, proof-of-concept study without a control group; though Thosar and Brito used 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring—the gold standard because it captures nighttime patterns that clinic measurements miss. The results need confirmation in larger randomized controlled trials. 

Still, the findings are encouraging. Bedtime regularization represents a low-cost, low-risk intervention that could complement existing hypertension treatments. Unlike medications with side effects or difficult lifestyle changes, going to bed at the same time requires minimal effort. 

The research adds to growing recognition that sleep consistency matters as much as duration. The American Heart Association recently added sleep duration to its cardiovascular health guidelines, but regularity hasn't received the same attention. This study suggests it should. 

While there is more research to be done, the initial data is promising. You can get all the details about the intervention and results at the journal SLEEP Advances. 

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This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01HL163232 (SST) and R35HL155681 (SAS), American Heart Association grant 24CDA1267757 (LCB), and the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University via funds from the Division of Consumer and Business Services of the State of Oregon (ORS-656.630)