Going to bed at 11pm reduces the risk of high blood pressure and keeps the heart healthy for men 

Going to bed at 11 p.m. reduces the risk of high blood pressure and keeps your heart healthy, if you’re a man, scientists say.

But for women, the perfect time to sleep is midnight.

Researchers who studied more than 14,000 men and women found that those who stuck to this bedtime most nights of the week had the lowest chance of heart problems.

But going to bed earlier or later at night increased the chances of developing high blood pressure, also called hypertension, since it could mean people are getting too much or too little sleep, both of which have been linked to higher readings.

Researchers from the University of South China said the risk of high blood pressure “gradually decreased with late bedtime” (file image)

For men, the perfect time to go to bed for heart health is 11 p.m. But for women, the time is an hour later, at midnight (file image)

Around one in five adults in the UK suffer from high blood pressure. It is one of the main causes of heart attacks and strokes.

Blood pressure, which describes the force with which blood pushes against the sides of the arteries as it’s pumped throughout the body, is measured in millimeters of mercury, or mmHg.

A high reading is classified as anything above 140/90 mmHg.

Smoking, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle can increase the risks, but studies show that irregular sleep patterns are also a factor.

Previous studies have found that spending seven to nine hours a night protects against increased blood pressure.

Researchers from the University of South China, Hengyang, followed 14,536 adults of all ages to see how sleep habits affected their heart health.

The results, published in the journal Postgraduate Medicine, showed that men who generally went to bed at 11 p.m. were 32 percent less likely to have high blood pressure than men who went to bed earlier or later.

For women, the healthiest bedtime was midnight.

In a report on their findings, the researchers said: “The risk of high blood pressure gradually decreased with later bedtime.”

“But the effect seems to differ significantly between genders.

“For men, the lowest risk time was 11 pm, but for women it was midnight.”

They added that going to bed at other times can disrupt the body’s internal clock, which can lead to increased blood pressure.

It can also reflect high levels of mental stress that can also increase risk to the heart.