Blood pressure and sleep apnea
Is your high blood pressure hard to control with medication, and do the numbers just not seem to come down? Do you also sleep poorly and often feel tired and worn out during the day?
It could be that so-called sleep apnea is causing these problems. This condition causes breathing pauses at night that often go unnoticed by the person affected. In many cases, the spouse or partner who shares the bed can give more information than the affected person. They often notice whether you snore or even stop breathingsomething the person affected might not be aware of. If this sounds like you, please discuss it with your doctor.
Sleep apnea can trigger or worsen high blood pressure because the breathing pauses lead to a drop in the oxygen level in the blood. The body reacts to this life-threatening-feeling situation with a lifesaving wake response: the so-called arousal. Heart rate and blood pressure rise and the muscles tense. The pause in breathing is usually ended by a few deep or long breaths. The person often doesn't fully wake up or remember it, but they move into a lighter, less restorative sleep stage. They therefore don't notice the nighttime breathing pauses, but do feel their effects during the day as tiredness, morning headaches, forgetfulness, and mood problems.
Lower oxygen levels affect blood pressure by increasing it on average by 8 to 15 mmHg systolic and 5 to 10 mmHg diastolic, because this raises stress hormones and the vasoconstrictor endothelin. The lack of nighttime recovery pushes blood pressure even higher.
If sleep apnea syndrome is present, the normal nighttime dip in blood pressure is often missing because of the factors mentioned. Depending on how severe the condition is, blood pressure may even rise at night.
Treating sleep apnea usually lowers blood pressure or makes it respond much better to medication.
Sleep apnea doesn't only affect adults. Due to overweight and lack of exercise, the condition is increasingly seen in children and adolescents and also increases their risk for high blood pressure. Affected children often stand out because of their behavior or worsening school performance. If a child is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, their blood pressure should also be checked.
Interesting:
A 2025 study in rats showed that if the body repeatedly gets too little oxygen (for example with sleep apnea), part of the nervous system becomes overactive. This can lead to high blood pressure.
This overactivity likely arises from certain signals during exhalation that stimulate the nerve cells that control blood pressure.
This overactivity likely arises from certain signals during exhalation that stimulate the nerve cells that control blood pressure.
Sources
- https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/daz-az/2012/daz-36-2012/schlafapnoe-als-risikofaktor-fuer-hypertonie
- https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/125057/Schlafapnoe-kann-bereits-im-Teenageralter-den-Blutdruck-ansteigen-lassen?rt=77add3308aa7bc665b00209049c45c84
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abstract/2781077
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41404666/
This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands of people monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based information and is continuously updated (as of 03/2026).
Author Sabine Croci is a certified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care. Since 2015 she has led the editorial team at BloodPressureDB. With additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder, and training in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides well-founded, practical, and reliably reviewed information.
Author Sabine Croci is a certified medical assistant with many years of experience in internal medicine and cardiology practices as well as in outpatient care. Since 2015 she has led the editorial team at BloodPressureDB. With additional qualifications as a paramedic, first responder, and training in various therapy and emergency areas, she provides well-founded, practical, and reliably reviewed information.
