Sex Differences in Sleep Duration and Quality: Implications for Hypertension Risk.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review synthesizes evidence on the association between sleep and hypertension from the past five years, with an emphasis on sex differences in blood pressure regulation. RECENT FINDINGS: Sleep is a modifiable risk factor for hypertension. In addition to overall sleep quality and duration, sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea are associated with elevated blood pressure. Emerging evidence suggests that these relations may differ by sex, reflecting variations in sleep characteristics, disorder presentation, and susceptibility to blood pressure dysregulation. Together, these findings support the concept of sleep as a multidimensional determinant of cardiovascular risk with different outcome presentation by sex. Sleep represents a clinically relevant and modifiable target for hypertension prevention and management and should be incorporated into cardiovascular risk assessment and clinical care. Sex-specific hormonal influences and autonomic dysfunction may contribute to the differences in associations between sleep disturbances and hypertension risk between males and females. Recognizing these mechanisms may inform more targeted strategies to reduce hypertension risk.