Quite often, people feel the symptoms of hypertension precisely during sleep, despite the fact that the body is resting at this time and is not subjected to physical exertion. There are a number of reasons why blood pressure rises at night. This is the result of the work of the autonomic nervous system, namely, its dysfunction, as well as other factors. In this case, the treatment is adjusted individually.
Provoking pathologies
The pressure that rises at night is an exclusively pathological condition; it cannot occur in healthy people. Normally, the vascular tone should be reduced, since the whole body is relaxed. You can find out why the pressure rises at night only after a comprehensive examination of the whole body.
If there is an increase in pressure in the evening, then this condition is called nocturnal hypertension.
The reasons for this can be different. People who think that the brain is completely resting during sleep are mistaken. During this period, he processes the information he received during the day. Therefore, at night, blood pressure rises in people exposed to stressful situations.
Why does the pressure rise in the dark? There is a list of factors that can increase this indicator. These include:
- Drink plenty of fluids before bed, and this also applies to large amounts of food.
- Physical inactivity is when a person leads a sedentary lifestyle.
- Eating a lot of salt.
- If a person was in intensive mode all day, he was in a hurry.
- With a disturbed regime of rest and work.
Alcohol and / or caffeine abuse can also be a clear cause of high blood pressure. Coffee itself causes high blood pressure, and caffeine is also found in green and black teas. Therefore, a cup of coffee or tea before bedtime provokes an increase in blood pressure at night. For people with a history of hypertension, it is better to replace coffee with natural drinks, for example, chicory.
Alcohol provokes a spasm of the vascular walls, which is the cause of increased blood pressure. Severe headaches and muscle weakness also occur.
Therefore, drinking alcoholic beverages, especially in the evening, becomes the cause of an increase in pressure at night during sleep. The retention of excess fluid in the body, which provokes the onset of hypertension, can occur due to kidney disease, especially inflammatory etiology.
Another reason for raising the blood pressure indicator can be pathologies of the spine. These include osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernias, consequences after injuries of the spinal column. They can provoke vasospasm, excessive tension of the muscle corset, compression of the vessels by the segments of the spine. All of these are the factors that cause an increase in pressure in the evening.
Why does blood pressure rise at night? The immediate reasons due to which high blood pressure is recorded are:
- obstructive sleep apnea syndrome;
- heart defects;
- lesions of the heart muscle of an organic nature;
- damage to the arteries.
Apnea is the stopping of breathing during sleep. Typically, this condition lasts up to 15 seconds. With such a stop, there is a lack of oxygen and the body starts compensatory capabilities, as a result of which the pressure rises in the evening. If these stops occur several in a row in a short period of time, then the amount of adrenaline in the blood increases. As a result, other symptoms of hypertension associated with palpitations appear.
Human life mode
A sedentary lifestyle directly affects the malfunctioning of the cardiovascular system, one of them is nocturnal hypertension. The reasons associated with the mode of life, today provoke pathology most often. People with sedentary work are especially susceptible to this. If a person moves a little, then the result of this will appear quickly enough. With physical inactivity, blood begins to circulate more slowly. This deterioration is fraught with the manifestation of increased peripheral vascular resistance. As a result, blood pressure rises in the evening. In people with a sedentary lifestyle, nocturnal hypertension is a common condition.
Why does the pressure rise at night? This is due to the fact that the body only during a full night's sleep produces hormones that regulate the functioning of the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. If the night's sleep is too short or completely absent, then these substances are produced in small quantities. Such an effect on the body is fraught with arterial hypertension, an increase in blood sugar levels, and endogenous stress.
Nutrition
It is very important for hypertensive patients to follow some dietary rules. There is a special diet for them - table number 10. You need to take food no later than 2-3 hours before bedtime. Food should be light and low in calories. A crowded stomach and intestines are enlarged before going to bed, and because of this, they compress the diaphragm. And from this, blood pressure rises.
More high-calorie meals should be consumed in the morning and at lunchtime. So they will have time to be digested throughout the day. Also, hypertensive patients are not recommended to have tea drinking before bedtime. Why should we refuse it in the evening? A large amount of fluid activates increased kidney function and an increase in the volume of fluid in the body. Accordingly, because of this, the pressure rises at night.
Nutrition for hypertension involves reducing the amount of salt consumed. An excess of it provokes quite unpleasant symptoms - an increase in pressure at night, swelling, impaired renal function and fluid retention in the body.
Treatment methods
If blood pressure rises in the evening, then the person must understand that this is already a pathological condition, and one must consult a doctor. To find out exactly what kind of increase takes place, there must be a tonometer with which the indicator can be measured at night in order to inform the doctor.
It is necessary to write down the tonometer data in a special diary in order to understand what the dynamics of the increase are. Measurements are taken throughout the day. Towards evening, the pressure may already slightly increase, then the measurement is taken before going to bed. A tonometer is used at night only if a person has woken up due to discomfort and symptoms of hypertension. All this is very important in diagnostics, these records will help to understand why the pressure rises in the evening.
What if there is an increase during sleep? If high blood pressure is observed at night, you must definitely contact a therapist and cardiologist, who will prescribe the necessary examinations and treatment. It is strictly forbidden to search for drugs on your own.
If blood pressure rises at night, then you need to take medications prescribed by a doctor in the evenings, namely, closer to sleep. In this case, the following are assigned:
- diuretics;
- beta and alpha blockers;
- ACE inhibitors;
- calcium channel blockers.
If the indicators do not increase much, and this happens infrequently, then doctors recommend resorting to other methods of treatment - non-drug. These include:
- Massage procedures. They are indicated for various diseases. For example, massage is necessary to relieve stress, relax muscles, and with osteochondrosis.
- Physiotherapy. It helps to improve the well-being of a person with hypertension, for this there is even a special set of exercises. It is necessary for people with a sedentary lifestyle, as a prevention of diseases of the cardiovascular system.
- Phytotherapy.Traditional medicine can be taken to affect a slight increase in blood pressure at night. The doctor will help you decide which decoctions and infusions to take.
- Acupuncture.
When a person develops nocturnal hypertension, it is important to establish the reasons for this immediately in order to choose the right therapy. It can be medicated and non-medicated. It is dangerous to start such a condition, as it is fraught with complications: hypertensive crisis, stroke and heart attack.
