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Objective sleepiness without a subjective complaint decreases hypertension risk
Nikolaos Athanasiou1,2, Slobodanka Pejovic1, Julio Fernandez-Mendoza1
1Sleep Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States.
Sleep
|December 12, 2025
Summary
Objective sleepiness, without excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), may protect against hypertension. This finding suggests a potential benefit for clinicians assessing cardiovascular risk in patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Sleep Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is linked to cardiovascular issues.
- Objective sleepiness (short sleep onset latency, SOL) is linked to cognitive deficits but not cardiovascular risk.
- The association between objective sleepiness without EDS and hypertension risk is unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between objective sleepiness without EDS and hypertension risk.
- To analyze this association in a large, general population sample.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 1590 adults from the Penn State Cohort without EDS.
- Objective sleepiness defined as SOL ≤ 7 minutes via polysomnography.
- Hypertension assessed as prevalent (high blood pressure or medication) and incident (new treatment).
Main Results:
- Objective sleepiness was associated with lower prevalence (22.1% vs. 32.3%) and incidence (8.8% vs. 17.3%) of hypertension.
- Individuals with objective sleepiness had reduced odds of prevalent (OR=0.44) and incident (OR=0.31) hypertension.
- Combining objective sleepiness with EDS negated the protective effect against hypertension.
Conclusions:
- Objective sleepiness, in the absence of EDS, demonstrates a protective association with hypertension risk.
- These findings offer valuable insights for clinicians in evaluating hypertension risk.
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