Blood pressure is usually monitored by a physician or even at home with a BP cuff, but one thing many of us have probably not done is to measure our blood pressure while asleep. What can that tell us?

According to a new report published in the medical journal The Lancet, nighttime blood pressure measurements are a better indicator of health risk than those readings taken when we are awake and alert.

In effect, the report stated that the best way to measure health risk as it pertains to BP levels is to take measurements during an entire 24-hour period. Over 7,500 participants on three continents were studied for this report, for an average time span of nearly 10 years.