Having prolonged periods of insufficient sleep is linked to significant increases in blood pressure during nighttime hours, according to a small study from Mayo Clinic that was presented at the 64th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in San Diego.

For their study, the Mayo team enrolled eight healthy people of normal weight, aged from 19 to 36, in a 16-day inpatient trial.

The results showed that in the nighttime, the average blood pressure readings in the sleep restriction phase compared with the normal sleep phase were 115/64 mm/Hg versus 105/57 mm/Hg.