What is the best position to sleep in with high blood pressure? Doctors answer

Sleep deprivation and high blood pressure are interlinked. The most important aspect of sleep in hypertension prevention and management is a good sleep hygiene which ensures a consistent pattern of well rested hours. Doctors reveal the best position to sleep in with high blood pressure

High blood pressure develops over time and is a result of unhealthy lifestyle choices such as not getting enough regular physical activity and the rise of hypertension in young people, especially in urban areas, is alarming and a matter of huge concern as uncontrolled hypertension can have fatal results such as heart attack or stroke and also because this preventable lifestyle disease can also make a person more susceptible to Covid-19, irrespective of age. Few know that sleep deprivation and high blood pressure are interlinked as the most important aspect of sleep in hypertension prevention and management is a good sleep hygiene which ensures a consistent pattern of well rested hours.

What is the best position to sleep in with high blood pressure? Doctors answer (Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash)

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Trupti Gilada, Consultant Physician in Infectious Disease at Mumbai's Masina Hospital, revealed, “Adequate sleep for 6-8 hours is essential in a well-ventilated, quiet room as much as possible. Poor sleeping habits include drinking caffeine or alcohol later in the day, napping during the day, late nights, exercising too late in the evening, and light from your digital device or emotional confrontations and must definitely be avoided in those with hypertension.”

She added, “Sleeping on the left side is the best sleeping position for a person who is suffering from hypertension as it relieves excessive pressure on the blood vessels that helps the blood to complete its circle more smoothly and with less resistance. This is especially true for pregnant women with hypertension.”

Insisting that good sleep quality is important for good physical and mental health and improving productivity while sleep apnoea and insomnia affects quality of sleep, Dr Pujan Parikh, Consultant Pulmonary Medicine at Mumbai's Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, shared, “Sleep apnoea can lead to worsening of high blood pressure. There is no specific position which improves quality of sleep and controls high blood pressure but yes, patients with sleep apnoea do get good sleep in prone position i.e. sleeping on stomach.”

According to Dr Pujan Parikh, “As apnoea episodes reduces in prone position which indirectly affects blood pressure. There is no specific study conducted on body position during sleep, hence very limited data available to comment on body position in sleep. Patients with resistant hypertension i.e. on 3 or more antihypertensive medicines are prone to have sleep apnoea. Due to fragmented and disturbed sleep, patient tend to sleep more but that doesn’t help as quality of sleep is still poor. Patient with poor quality of sleep doesn’t go into deep sleep which is very important part of our sleep cycle.”

Echoing that sleep deprivation and high blood pressure are interlinked, Dr Rakesh Rajpurohit, Consultant Pulmonologist at Jain Multispcialty Hospital, said, “Although little is known about the best sleeping position for your heart, research has found that not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep raises your risk of developing heart disease. Making sure you stay well-rested is important for maintaining optimal heart health. Sleeping on the left side is the best sleeping position for high blood pressure, as it relieves pressure on the blood vessels that return blood to the heart. These vessels are located on the right side of the body and can be compressed by slowing its circulation if you sleep on your right side.”

He added, “Sleeping on the left side is important for pregnant women concerned about high blood pressure. Since the growing baby presses against the internal organs and can cause circulation problems, sleeping on the left side will help with circulation and can prevent high blood pressure. Blood flows throughout your body and eventually returns to the heart on the right side. But when you sleep on your right side, you place a significant amount of pressure upon the blood vessels responsible for transporting blood to your heart.”