While reading the health section in a recent Good Housekeeping magazine I found this interesting tidbit and thought it was one of those unusual things regarding health that is good to know. Apparently when we sleep (sleep is so mysterious to me) and we are subjected to high noise levels our blood pressure goes up whether we wake up or not. “This is what researchers found when they studied 140 sleeping adults, monitoring their bedroom noise and their blood pressure. Airplanes passing overheadtemporarily boosted systolic (upper number) pressure by an average of 6.2 points and diastolic (lower number) pressure by 7.4 points; heavy road traffic and loudly snoring bed partners were just about as bad. “The higher the noise level, the more blood pressuer increases,” says study leader Lars Jarup, M.D>, Ph.D., of Imperial College, London. And while you may think you’ve grown accustomed to the regular racket, your blood pressure hasn’t-the same level of noise elicits the same response every time. With long-term exposure, your pressure may simply remain elevated. If you live near an airport or on a busy road, you can install double-paned window or wear earplugs.” Ref-Good Housekeeping, October 2008
This is one of the reasons that I find sleep to be such a mystery. I would have never thought that while sleeping the loud noises around you could affect you so much. My sleep problem (since I know you are all just dying to know) is that I have never really been a good sleeper, I always wake up throughout the night and then even worse find myself eating the chocolate or cookies I won’t allow myself to eat during the day. I wake up the next day and think oh no when I see the empty chocolate wrappers. Apparently my subconscious (and conscious) love of chocolate even manifests itself as I sleep.
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Interesting post, thanks for sharing. I am glad to say I sleep well, but I do live near a busy road. I am very interested in the blood pressure aspect, as recently when I went to the doctor she warned me my blood pressure was slightly high for someone of my age so I'm trying anything to make it more healthy - thanks!
ReplyDeleteWho knew snoring could raise your significant others blood pressure?
ReplyDeleteI recently saw this information too and found it very interesting. Good sleep has always been elusive to me - usually because of my cats - but at least our neighborhood is extremely quiet so I don't have to worry about increased blood pressure due to loud noises.
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi,
ReplyDeleteWe are fortunate to live out in the country and things are pretty quiet out here, when we sleep. Sometimes a plan might fly by during the day. We like to watch it up in the sky. Your body looks great and you are lucky that the chocolate is your friend, it seems. Thanks for sharing this very unique post with us. It really was a mystery to me, that your blood pressure could raise during a peaceful sleep, if noise was around. Have a great Sunday! :-)
Health Nut:
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. I also wake up several times during the night. Additionally, I have trouble falling to sleep in the first place. Then when I do fall asleep, I sleep very lightly - waking at the mere sound of a pin drop. It's a pain, and I wish someone would invent the true sleeping pill that not only puts you to sleep, keeps you asleep, and isn't habit forming. Wouldn't that be great? Then you could eat all the chocolate you want.
Happy trails.
Wow! That's interesting. I sleep like a baby and nothing except the sound of my children whimpering will wake me up. My husband is a light sleeper and if I make an apple pie it surely will not be there in the morning. :) He's like you except it's a pie plate that's empty. ;) hehe Peace to you!
ReplyDeleteOh Heidi,
ReplyDeleteplease take my cat...I've never seen one that snores before...and so loud.
Honestly she wakes me up all the time.
I find if it's cold I sleep well...oh yeah with ear muffs on :)
Maybe you should try a bit of chocolate right before bedtime so that the subconscious chocolate loving Heidi doesn't have to wake you up to sneak a piece!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried melatonin?
When I was growing up, I started having a fan running in my window. It provides "white noise" and it helps me sleep. Unfortunately now, in order to get to sleep, I have to have a fan running. If it's too quite, I can't sleep.
ReplyDeleteIt really IS interesting how the senses will respond the same as if you actually heard them. Now that's what you call WIRED for sound. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou eat chocolate and cookies in your sleep? I wonder if we could eat Temptations in our sleep?
ReplyDeleteWow, this is very interesting information. Sometimes I fall asleep with the TV on and when I wake up I don't feel rested at all. No wonder.
ReplyDeletewow, thanks for the information. i am glad we live in a very quiet neighborhood, though we do wake up with the birds chirping and singing to us in the morning, kind of telling us it is morning already.
ReplyDeletewow, can't believe you'd wake up in the night and eat chocolates, really shows your love for chocolates, and you have such a fit figure the love for chocolate does not show. thankfully, i also do not have sleeping problems, but sometimes, my problem is before i sleep i crave for something sweet, i would sleep it off, but there are nights that i just have to have a bite otherwise my mind will keep thinking about it and i won't be able to sleep. but once i sleep, i sleep like a baby
This is really interesting. How about if I put on some nice soft music while I sleep? Will this also affect my blood pressure?
ReplyDeleteI used to do that last time, but nowadays, when I sleep I want my surroundings to be as quiet as possible and the room as dark as possible. Preferably zero sound and zero light.
Yes, sleep is mysterious, and I sometimes wonder why we need to spend a third of our lives sleeping away.
it's hard to imagine that something can be raising your blood pressure during sleep even when you're not consciously aware of it. now that's wild.
ReplyDeleteI have never slept well and unfortunately now my kids all have sleeping disorder...well kinda. Thanks to me! Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteoh my my room is near the road when you look out the window you can see a road and every vehicle that passes thru is heard in my room even at night. maybe i just put an earplug on my ear so i cant hear them, what do you think? very informative post I'll tell this to my parents. by the way is it OK if we exchange links? thanks in advance! godbless
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post, thank you for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteI have been an insomniac since child hood. My mother spent most of my younger years waking up in the middle of the night to find me watching t.v.
That was a problem for me where school was concerned. Luckily I was blessed with some kind of wonderful osmosis because I was always top of the class even without sleep or studying.
But, later as I got older it did become a major problem for me. I finally got to the point where I could barely take care of the simplest daily duties.
I tried every method you can possibly imagine for year after year. But nothing worked.
When I had gone through just about method and every over the counter sleep aid you could by I was forced to seek help from a DR.
I have slept wonderfully ever since. But, I do use a prescription medication. However, I only need to use it a few times a week. For that I am grateful.
But my blood pressure is and has always been fantastic. So I am lucky in that respect!
It's hilarious that you "sleep eat".
ReplyDeleteTalk about a way to sabotage your diet plan!
You will just have to have your kids hide those cookies so you can't find them in the middle of the night! ;)
I had always been a sound sleeper. I mean a bomb could go off and it would not have moved me. Now however I find that I wake up several times in the night and like you I have a tendency to head for the refrigerator. I don’t know what that is about… I too like chocolate.
ReplyDelete