Sleep This Much for Better Blood Pressure

Move the alarm ahead 1 hour on your bedside clock. Research shows that just 1 additional hour of sleep may be all you need to help reduce high blood pressure risk.

In fact, every additional hour of sleep you lose increases your risk of high blood pressure by 37 percent, according to a study of middle-aged adults.

Sick and Tired
Unfortunately, most people are losing ground when it comes to getting adequate shut-eye. In the 5-year study, over 40 percent of the participants got fewer than 6 hours of sleep per night. And only a paltry 1 percent averaged 8 or more hours nightly. That lack of sleep doesn't just leave your eyes bleary and your head cloudy. It puts all your body systems in a state of disarray. (Related: Use this checklist of bedtime do's and don'ts to help get more ZZZs.)

The Sleep Situation
When you don't get enough sleep, your sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive. Which in turn boosts your blood levels of stress hormones that put all your body systems into high gear. These hormones cause your pupils to dilate, your heart rate to spike, and your digestion to slow. And probably worst of all, those stress hormones not only can cause temporary spikes in blood pressure but also can cause blood pressure to inch up permanently over time. (Related: Make sleepless nights a thing of the past with these insomnia self-care treatments.)

Ready to do more good things for your blood pressure? Here's a gallery of 12 foods that your blood vessels will love.

Need more help than just eating healthy foods? Enlist your doctor's assistance with this printable Blood Pressure Doctor Discussion Guide.