Health
Kids with insufficient sleep could see spike in blood pressure, study finds
Poor sleep habits have a ripple effect on many aspects of kids’ health — and a new study has revealed that blood pressure is one of them.
A report published in the journal Pediatrics this week said that going to sleep earlier and sleeping for longer durations is linked to lower blood pressure in children.
Researchers analyzed 539 patients averaging 14.6 years old, who slept for an average of 9.1 hours per night.
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Children who went to sleep later were found to have worse blood pressure parameters during the day — while those who slept for longer periods had reduced blood pressure.
The results were consistent regardless of age, gender, body mass index and the day of the week.
A report published in the journal Pediatrics this week revealed that going to sleep earlier and sleeping for longer durations is linked to lower blood pressure in children. (iStock)
“The key takeaway is that essential hypertension in children is, like in adults, contributed by lifestyle,” Dr. Amy Kogon, the study’s lead author and assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
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“As physicians, we typically counsel patients to improve diet and physical activity to improve blood pressure, but this study suggests that sleep may be an additional facet to consider.”
“This study suggests that sleep may be an additional [health] facet to consider.”
The researchers were surprised to find that longer sleep duration was associated with blunted “nocturnal dipping,” which is the expected drop in blood pressure that comes during sleep.
“It is considered abnormal if a patient does not exhibit nocturnal dipping on their ambulatory blood pressure study,” Kogon said.
Children who went to sleep later were found to have worse blood pressure parameters during the day, while those who slept for longer periods had reduced blood pressure, a new study found. (iStock)
“We expected that shorter sleep would be associated with blunted nocturnal dipping, and ultimately found that instead, longer sleep duration was associated with blunted nocturnal dipping.”
This was primarily seen in patients who reported excessive sleep duration, the researcher noted.
“It’s possible that those with excessive sleep duration are not sleeping well,” she said.
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“For instance, if they had sleep apnea or even if they were in bed but on their phone or watching TV all night, that might explain the blunted nocturnal dipping.”
The study did have some limitations, Kogon acknowledged.
Children between 6 and 12 years old should get 9-12 hours of sleep each night — while those between ages 13 and 18 need 8-10 hours, per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (iStock)
“It was a retrospective review of data — so these are associations,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Also, we captured sleep duration by self-reporting for only [a] 24-hour period of data and assumed that it is representative of the patient’s sleep duration in general.”
The researchers also did not gather data on sleep quality or sleep disorders.
Factors impacting children’s blood pressure
High blood pressure affects about one in every seven people between 12 and 19 years of age, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As with adults, children with elevated blood pressure are at a higher risk of stroke and heart attack, experts say.
Sleep is just one of several risk factors that can impact this key health metric.
High blood pressure affects about one in every seven people between 12 and 19 years of age, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (iStock)
Other influencers include obesity, physical fitness, diet and environmental stress, according to the American Heart Association.
Children between 6 and 12 years old should get 9-12 hours of sleep each night, while those between 13 and 18 need 8-10 hours, per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Studies have shown that most youth are falling short, with 6 out of 10 U.S. middle schoolers and 7 out of 10 high-school students saying they don’t get enough sleep on school nights.
How kids can improve their sleep
Michael Gradisar, head of sleep science at Sleep Cycle and a clinical psychologist based in Adelaide, Australia, said the biggest obstacle to kids’ sleep might not be what people think.
“The scientific evidence doesn’t show that screens are the main obstacle to young people getting a good night’s sleep,” he told Fox News Digital.
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“The obstacle is actually their body clock. Because their body clock is timed late, they tend to fall asleep late and wake up late. Scientists have known this for decades.”
To improve sleep quality, Gradisar recommended using morning bright light therapy tailored to the person’s own body clock timing.
Six out of 10 U.S. middle schoolers and 7 out of 10 high-school students say they don’t get enough sleep on school nights. (iStock)
Morning bright light therapy uses bright light to help reset the circadian rhythm and normalize sleep patterns.
“That has shown the best results, according to the clinical trials that have been performed — including those we’ve run here in Australia,” he said.
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Looking ahead, the researchers plan to determine whether a sleep promotion intervention will improve blood pressure, Kogon said.
“We plan to explore this further by obtaining sleep quality data and obtaining more long-term sleep measures in patients being evaluated for high blood pressure,” she added.
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Dr. Robert Lufkin, pictured at left, was diagnosed with four chronic diseases, which inspired him to write a book, “Lies I Taught in Medical School.” (Dr. Robert Lufkin / iStock)
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a fresh warning about an increased risk of dengue virus infections as a “record-breaking number” of cases are being reported in the Americas.
From January 1 to June 24 of this year, more than 9.7 million dengue cases were recorded among countries in the Americas, which is more than double the 4.6 million infections recorded throughout 2023, according to the CDC.
“Global incidence of dengue in 2024 has been the highest on record for this calendar year; many countries are reporting higher-than-usual dengue case numbers,” it also said. “In 2024, countries in the Americas have reported a record-breaking number of dengue cases, exceeding the highest number ever recorded in a single year.”
The CDC describes the dengue virus as the “most common” mosquito-borne disease in the world. In the U.S., Florida has reported the most cases so far this year with 197, followed by New York with 134, Massachusetts with 50 and California with 40.
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The CDC says there is a “record-breaking” number of dengue virus infections being recorded in the Americas so far this year. (iStock)
“Six U.S. territories and freely associated states are classified as areas with frequent or continuous dengue transmission: Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau,” the CDC adds.
The health agency says one in every four dengue infections are symptomatic, with effects including fever and “nausea, vomiting, rash, muscle aches, joint pain, bone pain, pain behind the eyes, headache, or low white blood cell counts.”
“Severe disease, with associated severe bleeding, shock or respiratory distress caused by plasma leakage, or end-organ impairment, develops in 1 in 20 people with symptomatic dengue,” according to the CDC.
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Tiger mosquitoes are being blamed for the recent spread of the dengue virus in Europe. (iStock)
It said infants under the age of one, pregnant women and adults over the age of 65 carry an “increased risk of severe dengue” and that “transmission peaks during the warmer and wetter months in many tropical and subtropical regions.”
There is not currently a medication to treat dengue, the CDC says.
A worker is seen releasing smoke during a fumigation campaign against the Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito, which is the transmitter for the dengue virus, on June 24, in San Salvador, El Salvador. (Aphotografia/Getty Images)
Infected people are advised to rest, take acetaminophen for pain and fever, stay hydrated and see a doctor.
Fox News’ Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.
A California doctor wants people to know that, in his view and experience, the medical community doesn’t always tell patients the truth.
Dr. Robert Lufkin, a physician and father of two young children, has been diagnosed with four chronic diseases — the same ones that claimed his father’s life.
Inspired by his own medical struggles, Lufkin decided to write a book exposing what he calls “medical lies” that contribute to the risk of chronic disease in the U.S. – some of which he says he himself once taught as a professor at UCLA and USC.
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While Lufkin is critical of the medical establishment, he pointed out that he is also still part of it himself.
“I’ve written hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and 10 textbooks, and also have the honor and privilege of teaching doctors and other health care professionals, as well as seeing patients,” Lufkin told Fox News Digital during an interview.
Dr. Robert Lufkin, pictured at left, was diagnosed with four chronic diseases, which inspired him to write a book, “Lies I Taught in Medical School.” (Dr. Robert Lufkin/iStock)
His own diagnoses, Lufkin said, “woke him up” to the flaws in the medical system.
First, he developed a type of arthritis called gout.
“Next, I developed hypertension, which practically half of adults have,” he said.
“Unless we address the metabolic cause … the diseases will only continue to get worse and worse.”
Then came pre-diabetes, followed by dyslipidemia — “which is sort of abnormal blood lipids.”
The doctor noted that he’s actually a “big fan” of Western medicine in general — “I think it’s transformed our lives and made the world a better place,” he said — but that in the 21st century, a “new class of diseases” has posed a challenge.
Dr. Robert Lufkin, a physician and father of two children, said Western medicine has “made the world a better place,” though he warns of widespread misinformation. (Dr. Robert Lufkin)
“The diseases were present before, but now they’re exploding,” he said.
These include obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and even mental illness, Lufkin said.
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“Up to 80% of our resources are now spent on these chronic diseases.”
The problem, according to the doctor, is that the tools that were so effective in the 20th century — “the pills and surgeries” — might save lives in the moment.
But they only address the symptoms of these chronic diseases — not their root causes.
In his book, “Lies I Taught in Medical School,” Lufkin claims that medical professionals tend to propagate 10 major misconceptions. (Dr. Robert Lufkin)
“There’s a common metabolic cause that underlies most of these diseases,” Lufkin said.
“And unless we address the metabolic cause, the pills and surgeries will not. The diseases will only continue to get worse and worse.”
‘The 10 lies’
In his book, “Lies I Taught in Medical School,” Lufkin claims that medical professionals tend to propagate 10 falsehoods.
He listed these situations and includes separate chapters on them in his book, labeled this way:
1. The Metabolic Lie: “Metabolism Is Just the Body’s Way of Digesting Food”
2. The Obesity Lie: “To Lose Weight, Just Exercise More and Eat Less”
3. The Diabetes Lie: “Sugar is Harmless, Other Than Causing Weight Gain and Tooth Decay”
4. The Fatty Liver Lie: “There Is No Treatment for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease”
5. The Hypertension Lie: “High Blood Pressure Is Best Treated with Drugs”
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6. The Cardiovascular Disease Lie: “Statins Are a Good Choice to Prevent Heart Disease”
7. The Cancer Lie: “Most Cancer Is Caused by Accumulated DNA Damage”
8. The Alzheimer’s Lie: “Alzheimer’s Disease Is a Progressive, Untreatable Disease Caused by Beta-Amyloid Accumulation”
9. The Mental Health Lie: “Metabolism Has Little Effect on Mental Health”
10. The Longevity Lie: “Aging Is the Inevitable Result of Accumulated Wear and Tear”
“In each chapter,” said Lufkin, “we go through each of those chronic diseases that determine our life span — and we talk about what the lies are and what the truth is.”
The doctor then presents a plan for making healthier lifestyle choices.
In his book, Dr. Lufkin also shares recommendations for healthy lifestyle choices to help prevent disease. (iStock)
“We talk about the nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress and how we can craft our own lifestyles to reverse those diseases,” he said.
In the excerpt below, Lufkin explains the first two of these “lies.”
Read an excerpt from ‘Lies I Taught in Medical School’
The Obesity Lie: ‘A Calorie Is Just a Calorie’
Dr. Robert Lufkin: We are now experiencing the worst global epidemic of obesity in history. Statistics show that 42.5% of adults age 20 and over are obese, and 73.6% are at least overweight.
Almost half of Americans are now obese, and most are overweight. Obesity is unhealthy and a marker for metabolic dysfunction, which manifests as hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cancer and other chronic diseases.
“We are now experiencing the worst global epidemic of obesity in history.”
Our understanding of the causes of this epidemic and the approaches to treating it is based on a simple lie: that “a calorie is a calorie,” implying that obesity is caused by eating too many calories.
“Obesity is unhealthy and a marker for metabolic dysfunction, which manifests as hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cancer and other chronic diseases,” a doctor writes in his book. (iStock)
As a physician, I know from personal experience that I can make anyone gain weight or fat just by giving them extra insulin. This is seen in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics as soon as they begin taking extra insulin as a medication.
To put it another way, calories are necessary, but not sufficient to drive obesity. Insulin is required. Obesity is not just a calorie problem; it’s an insulin problem.
If all foods stimulated insulin equally, then a calorie would just be a calorie. That’s not a lie. But all foods don’t trigger insulin the same way.
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The truth here is that in order to lose (or gain) weight, the most important thing is not the number of calories consumed, but rather the types of calories that affect insulin levels and direct our bodies to store energy as fat.
As every rancher knows, to fatten livestock, simply feed them large amounts of refined carbohydrates that will turn on insulin and drive energy storage into fat.
Feeding livestock fatty foods will not have the same effect.
The Diabetes Lie: ‘Sugar is Harmless, Other Than Causing Weight Gain and Tooth Decay’
We are currently at the beginning of the worst diabetes epidemic the world has ever known. Ten percent of American adults have type 2 diabetes, and about 38% have prediabetes. This means that for the first time in history, 48% — or nearly half the population — have the same metabolic disease!
“We are currently at the beginning of the worst diabetes epidemic the world has ever known,” Dr. Robert Lufkin writes in his new book. (iStock)
The diabetes lie declares that the best way to treat type 2 diabetes is with insulin.
Giving insulin will help control the immediate effects of too much glucose in the blood by telling our cells to remove that blood glucose and store it as fat.
However, it will also raise the body’s overall insulin levels, worsening insulin resistance, the underlying cause of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, elevated insulin levels drive other chronic diseases.
“Many people would rather take a pill or a shot instead of changing their lifestyles.”
Our health care system is sadly much more optimized to deliver prescriptions for insulin and other drugs for managing type 2 diabetes than giving instructions on how to reverse it by changing our nutrition to avoid the causes.
To be fair, many people would rather take a pill or a shot instead of changing their lifestyles. But most people don’t know how powerful and effective lifestyle choices can be.
Plus, there is some evidence to show that merely improving glucose control with drugs, such as insulin or pills, might not prevent some of the long-term complications these patients all face.
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There are also financial incentives. In 2013, sales of insulin and other diabetes drugs reached $23 billion, according to data from IMS Health, a drug market research firm.
That was more than the combined revenue of the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.
Excerpted with permission from the new book, “Lies I Told in Medical School” (BenBella Books, Inc.), by Dr. Robert Lufkin, copyright © 2024 by Dr. Robert Lufkin. All rights reserved.
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