Sleep deprivation leads to more hypertension in women than men.

A new research has revealed that sleep deprivation puts women's health at a greater risk than men's, making the former more susceptible to hypertension.

The study, carried out by researchers at Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, Britain, involved 5,766 volunteers - 4,199 men and 1,567 women - from 20 London-based civil service departments. The researchers looked at men and women sleeping less than or equal to five hours a night to see if their risk of developing hypertension was any higher than men and women getting the recommended seven hours or more of sleep a night.

After examining the participants, the researchers found that those women in the study group who slept less than or equal to five hours a night were twice as likely to suffer from hypertension than women who slept for the recommended seven hours or more a night.

The researchers found no difference between men sleeping less than five hours and those sleeping seven hours or more. Professor Francesco Cappuccio from the University of Warwick's Warwick Medical School led the research and declared that women sleeping les than five hours a night should try to get more sleep.

"Sustained sleep curtailment, ensuing excessive daytime sleepiness, and the higher cardiovascular risk are causes for concern. Emerging evidence also suggests a potential role for sleep deprivation as a predictor or risk factor for conditions like obesity and diabetes," Cappuccio said.

The research paper entitled: 'Gender-Specific Associations of Short Sleep Duration With Prevalent and Incident Hypertension: The Whitehall II Study' is published in the October issue of "Hypertension".