Snorers may be sending their partners to an early grave by pushing up their blood pressure, according to a new study.

Scientists have found that blood pressure increases in response to noises at night, whether you are awake or asleep.

Aircraft noise and heavy traffic also have health impacts, the study found.

High blood pressure or hypertension is a known risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and dementia.

For their study, scientists monitored 140 sleeping volunteers at their homes near Heathrow and other major European airports.

They found that the blood pressure of participants went up noticeably after a "noise event," which was a sound louder than 35 decibels. This included a passenger jet flying overhead, traffic passing outside or snoring.

Similar blood pressure rises were triggered by other noise sources such as traffic.

Dr. Lars Jarup, one of the study's authors from Imperial College London, said: "Noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but it can also be damaging for people's health.

"Our studies show that night-time aircraft noise can affect your blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension," he said.

Dr. Nancy Collop, of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, said the study, published in the European Heart Journal, made sense.

"There have already been studies on dogs which show that those who are subjected to loud noise such as snoring may suffer from intermediate high blood pressure," she said.

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