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MONDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Teens who don't get enough sleep or have poor-quality sleep run the risk of elevated blood pressure, a new study finds.

It's the first study to make such a connection, said study senior author Dr. Susan Redline, director of the University Hospitals Sleep Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

"In adults, there has been evidence that less than six hours of sleep a night was associated with high blood pressure levels," said Redline, who is professor of medicine and pediatrics at Case Western Reserve. "No study has been done in adolescents."

Redline and her colleagues studied 238 boys and girls ages 13 to 16, asking about their sleep habits. They found that 11 percent of them slept less than 6.5 hours a night, and 26 percent had poor "sleep efficiency," with frequent awakenings at night.

One of every seven teens in the study had either hypertension, which is high blood pressure greater than 120 over 80, or borderline high blood pressure called prehypertension. Teens with less than 85 percent sleep efficiency had nearly three times the odds of high blood pressure, the researchers reported.

"That was one of the more unique findings, that poor sleep quality is associated with high blood pressure," Redline said.

The study was published in the Aug. 19 issue of the journal Circulation.

While it's too early to tell where poor sleep ranks among the risk factors for high blood pressure, Redline said, "In our study, it was stronger than being overweight."

The Case Western researchers will continue to follow the teenagers "to see how their blood pressure is developing over time," she said.

Dr. Stephen R. Daniels, pediatrician-in-chief at the Children's Hospital in Denver and a spokesman for the American Heart Association, noted that the new study is preliminary, but "it does point to the direction that the next studies need to go to understand what less sleep and less efficient sleep mean in terms of blood pressure."

If the findings hold up, they could eventually influence school system schedules, Daniels said. Schools now start later in the morning for younger students and earlier for teenagers, he said. "But the changes in the diurnal patterns for adolescents make it harder for them to get up in the morning and to get to sleep at night. If we reorganize the day-night schedule for adolescents, that could make life easier for them and their parents," he added.

Dr. Richard D. Simon Jr., medical director of the Kathryn Severyns Dement Sleep Disorders Center in Walla Walla, Wash., said the study findings make biological sense.

"We do know that in adults, poor sleep and a diminished amount of sleep are associated with obesity and hormone intolerance," Simon said. "Changes occur in the sympathetic nervous system. Also, fragmentary sleep activates inflammatory pathways."

All the experts agreed that better sleep for teens could be achieved by what Redline called "optimizing sleep hygiene, following regular sleep habits, turning the light off approximately the same time every night, keeping the bedroom quieter, and avoiding substances that may disturb sleep, such as caffeine."

"Kids as well as adults need to be allowed to sleep enough," Simon said. "We say eight hours of sleep a night, but it takes an hour to wind down. It's very, very hard to allow enough time to sleep."

More information

For tips on getting more and better sleep, visit the University of Maryland Medical Center  .

SUNDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The start of a new school year means it's time to remind students and parents about proper selection and use of backpacks.

"When used correctly, backpacks are the most efficient way to carry a load and distribute the weight among some of the body's strongest muscles," Eric Wall, director of the orthopedic surgery division at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said in a center news release.

However, improper use of backpacks can cause injuries that require medical treatment. For example, backpack-related injuries send almost 6,000 students to emergency departments each year, according to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report released in 2002.

Wall and his colleagues in the division of orthopedic surgery offer guidelines to prevent school backpack-related injuries:

• When shopping for a backpack, select one that's lightweight, has two wide and padded shoulder straps, a cushioned back, and waist straps. A pack with wheels may be a good option if your child has to lug a very heavy load.
• Children should always use both shoulder straps, and the straps should be cinched tight.
• Limit backpack loads to no more than 15 percent to 20 percent of a child's body weight.
• The heaviest items should be packed closest to the center of a child's back.
• Children shouldn't carry all of their books throughout the school day. They should keep their books in their locker and get them when they need them.
• When wearing or lifting a heavy backpack, children should bend using both knees.
• Don't leave backpacks on the floor where people can trip on them, and don't swing a packs around where it can hit other people.
• If your child uses a backpack and complains of persistent back pain, consult with a pediatrician.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about backpack safety  .

FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Breast-feeding offers a host of benefits to both mother and baby, including a stronger immune system for the baby and faster weight loss for mom. There are even some known psychological benefits from breast-feeding, such as a stronger parent-child bond.

But British researchers have recently discovered another mental bonus -- children who are breast-fed seem to cope with stress and anxiety more effectively when they reach school age.

In a group of almost 9,000 children between the ages of 5 and 10, children who weren't breast-fed and whose parents were getting divorced or separated were 9.4 times more likely to be highly anxious when compared to other children. But, children who were breast-fed as infants whose parents were getting divorced were only 2.2 times as likely to be highly anxious, the study found.

"Breast-feeding is associated with resilience against the psychosocial stress linked with parental divorce/separation," the study's authors concluded in a recent issue of the Archives of Diseases in Childhood.

The authors theorized that the physical contact between mother and child in the first few days of life could help form certain neural and hormonal pathways that affect a person's ability to cope with stress later in life.

Breast-feeding experts have long been aware of the mother-baby bond that occurs during breast-feeding. "There's a lot less verbal communication, but lots of tactile communication and eye contact that promotes positive physiological responses," said Liz Maseth, an outpatient lactation consultant at Akron's Children's Hospital in Ohio.

"Breast-feeding does seem to suppress stress responses in babies, and it does seem that there's a protective effect," she said.

"In terms of the biological possibility, breast milk is pretty amazing stuff, and the tactile interaction that goes along with breast-feeding does have an influence on the development of neurons," explained Judy Hopkinson, an associate professor of pediatrics in the section of nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Hopkinson added that babies who aren't breast-fed may be able to reap similar benefits with lots of holding and touching.

The study authors also suggested that the bond created during breast-feeding might affect the way the child and the mother interact, and that effect might be long-lasting.

Hopkinson pointed out that mothers who are successful at breast-feeding often have a supportive social network, which could also help lessen a child's stress in times of crisis.

Whatever the reason for the association, it was clear that children who had been breast-fed were less stressed.

Both Maseth and Hopkinson said it's very important to try to begin breast-feeding as soon as possible after birth -- no more than one hour. Maseth said this is because the breasts contain glands that release the same scent as amniotic fluid, a scent that babies will recognize.

"For most mothers, breast-feeding doesn't come naturally. If the baby doesn't latch on, it can lead to feelings of failure and concern about whether or not the baby is getting enough milk. Women need lots of encouragement and education," Maseth said.

"Don't give up, though, seek help" she advised, adding that your baby's pediatrician will likely have information on what local breast-feeding resources are available.

"Breast-feeding is something for mothers and babies to enjoy. A time for them to cherish and nurture each other," said Hopkinson. For women who can't breast-feed, she said, that skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby can also help build a similar bond.

More information

The National Women's Health Information Center has more on breast-feeding.

THURSDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) -- Gummy bears with the sugar substitute xylitol may help prevent tooth decay in children, according to a U.S. study.

Researchers gave children four xylitol-sweetened gummy bears three times a day during school hours. After six weeks, there were significant reductions in the levels of harmful mutans streptococci (MS) bacteria in the children's plaque. MS is known to cause tooth decay.

Xylitol, a naturally-occurring sugar alcohol that's frequently used as a sweetener, has been shown to reduce levels of MS. Xylitol chewing gums are available but aren't considered suitable for younger children.

"For xylitol to be successfully used in oral health promotion programs amongst primary school children, an effective means of delivering xylitol must be identified. Gummy bears would seem to be more ideal than chewing gum," research leader Kiet A. Ly, of the University of Washington, said in a BioMed Central news release.

"Based on our findings, it is feasible to develop a clinical trial of a gummy-based (cavity) prevention program. Such a study is now being carried out in the East Cleveland primary school district," Ly said.

The findings were published in the journal BMC Oral Health.

More information

The American Dental Association has more about tooth decay  .