Sleep hygiene education delivered in a primary care setting significantly improved sleep quality and reduced blood pressure levels in patients with essential hypertension.
Sleep hygiene education significantly improved sleep quality in patients with essential hypertension over 8 weeks.
Sleep hygiene education significantly reduced systolic blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension.
Sleep hygiene education significantly reduced diastolic blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension.
The randomized controlled trial was completed with 129 of 138 enrolled participants with essential hypertension.
Sleep hygiene education was delivered in a single primary care session, with a sleep diary used to support adherence over 8 weeks.
The authors suggest that sleep hygiene education in primary care may also help prevent complications related to hypertension.
This research suggests that teaching patients with high blood pressure about good sleep habits — known as 'sleep hygiene education' — can lead to meaningful improvements in both sleep quality and blood pressure levels. In this randomized controlled trial conducted in Turkey, 129 patients with essential hypertension were divided into two groups. One group received sleep hygiene education at a single doctor's visit and kept a sleep diary for 8 weeks, while the other group received no such education. After 8 weeks, those who received the education had notably better sleep quality scores, lower systolic blood pressure (by about 9.7 mmHg), and lower diastolic blood pressure (by about 6.3 mmHg). The control group showed no significant changes in any of these measures. These findings are notable because the intervention was simple, brief, and delivered in an everyday primary care setting — a family practice clinic. This suggests that a low-cost, non-medication approach to managing hypertension could be integrated into routine doctor visits without requiring specialist referrals or expensive programs. The size of the blood pressure reductions observed is clinically meaningful and comparable to effects seen with some antihypertensive medications. This research suggests that poor sleep may be an underappreciated contributor to high blood pressure, and that helping patients improve their sleep habits could be a practical tool for better managing hypertension and potentially reducing the risk of related health complications such as heart disease and stroke. Further research in larger and more diverse populations would help confirm these findings.
Tutu O, Bilen V, Ozer C. (2026). The effect of sleep hygiene education on sleep quality and blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension in a family practice center: a randomized controlled trial.. Family practice. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmaf110