why blood pressure is higher in the morning

I know many of you experience high blood pressure in the morning, myself included. It’s normal to have slightly higher blood pressure numbers in the morning, and here’s why it happens. Serum cortisol, which activates the autonomic nervous system and can be a cause for high blood pressure, peaks in the early morning hours. This could be why there is a higher risk of a heart attack in the morning. Ask your doctor to check your levels with a 24-hour salivary cortisol test (samples are saved every four hours for 24 hours).

Researchers speculate that the higher incidence of sudden cardiac death in the early morning hours on Saturday and Monday may be due to excessive cortisol levels, which is a cause for high blood pressure. I agree with my colleague, the late Dr. Robert Elliot, who theorized if your home or work is an emotional combat zone, then “gearing up” to face the weekend or work week can trigger lethal conversations between the mind and the body. Heart attacks in the morning occur more frequently than at other times of the day.

share this because it’s normal to have high blood pressure in the morning. As the day progresses, blood pressure settles down although it can elevate with activity and stress. By night levels usually come down with the rest and recovery of sleep

to have a treadmill exercise stress test to see how your blood pressure responds to light activity and more intense exercise. In fact, everyone should get a baseline stress test by the time they are age 50, just to check and have something to compare to in the future.