Divorce linked to high blood pressure: Relationship break-ups could increase chances of heart attacks, strokes and kidney damage


  • Sleeping badly after divorce can cause dangerous blood pressure increases
  • Research focused on 138 people who were newly divorced or separated
  • Their blood pressure was also taken three times over seven month period

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Daily Mail Reporter

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Sleeping badly after a divorce won’t just leave you with dark circles under your eyes.

Research shows it could also cause dangerous increases in blood pressure, leading to serious illness.

A University of Arizona team questioned 138 people, who were newly divorced or separated, about how well they were sleeping.

Stress: Relationship break-ups could increase chances of serious ill health, a report has found

Their blood pressure was also taken three times over seven and a half months.

Those people who regularly had trouble sleeping saw their blood pressure increase a few months later.

Kendra Krietsch, the study’s project manager, said: ‘If somebody is going through a divorce and unable to sleep, they really need to get some help or it could lead to problems.

‘We are all going to go through something stressful in our lives, whether it’s a divorce or something else.

‘This shows how important it is for all of us to value sleep and take care of ourselves.’

Another of the report’s authors, David Sbarra, added: ‘What we found was if you’re having sleep problems up to about 10 weeks after your separation, they don’t appear to be associated with your future increase in blood pressure.

Those people who regularly had trouble sleeping saw their blood pressure increase a few months later

‘However, after ten or so weeks – after some sustained period of time – there seems to be a cumulative bad effect.’

For people who have high blood pressure to begin with, the increase is not to be taken lightly, he added.

‘Each standard deviation increase in sleep complaints corresponded to a roughly six unit increase in subsequent systolic blood pressure.

‘If you’re starting at the high average or low hypertensive range, this is a nontrivial bump.’

High blood pressure trebles the risk of heart attacks and strokes, can damage the kidneys and eyes and is becoming increasingly linked to dementia.

The results will be reported in the journal Health Psychology.

Comments (62)

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LADWP Trust Fund,

Los Angeles, United States,

18 hours ago

It depends on who you’re divorcing. My own divorce lowered my blood pressure and improved my life immensely.

mindthegap,

land of milk and honey, United States,

1 day ago

Hahaha! Marriage can cause the very same in some cases…just saying

kylesar,

LaGrange, United States,

1 day ago

This is so obvious. It’s not the divorce………………….. it’s the stress from the divorce

Kane,

perth, Australia,

1 day ago

the hip pocket has lots of emotional repercussions.

Jane Lima,

Salvador, Brazil,

1 day ago

At the same people choose to marriage.

Kitty love,

Newcastle upon tyne, United Kingdom,

1 day ago

OMG really? Didn’t know stress could do such a thing! Derrrrrrr DM!

null,

1 day ago

Or simply done to a mad ex wife who thinks affection, love, sex and desire are dirty dirty words and that all men are dirty and their wee smells. Or was that just mine?

null,

1 day ago

Or simply done to a mad ex wife who thinks affection, love, sex and desire are dirty dirty words and that all men are dirty and their wee smells. Or was that just mine?

null,

1 day ago

Or simply done to a mad ex wife who thinks affection, love, sex and desire are dirty dirty words and that all men are dirty and their wee smells. Or was that just mine?

null,

1 day ago

Or simply done to a mad ex wife who thinks affection, love, sex and desire are dirty dirty words and that all men are dirty and their wee smells. Or was that just mine?

Kane,

perth, Australia,

1 day ago

probably.

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