If you’re a woman suffering from insomnia, consider sliding into a blood pressure cuff for a quick check.

That’s because recent research shows women who struggle with getting enough sleep are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston made that conclusion after tracking the health outcomes of more than 66,000 young and middle-aged women during a 16-year period. In addition to basic health data, they also followed the subjects’ average sleep duration and sleeping difficulties.

The final analysis revealed a host of issues among women with sleeping difficulties: Higher body-mass indexes, less physical activity and more smoking and drinking.

The researchers found that women who slept less than seven to eight hours a night had a significantly higher risk of high blood pressure. Likewise, hypertension risk was higher among those women who had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

While much remains unknown about the exact relationship between insomnia and high blood pressure, it can lead to a dangerous chain of events, including reduced heart output, sodium retention and arterial stiffness. These conditions, in turn, can elevate the risk of hypertension.

Next, the researchers want to look at insomnia’s effects on blood pressure in men. They also want to explore how treating insomnia might positively affect blood pressure. In future clinical studies, they plan to investigate the role sleep medications might play in controlling blood pressure.

If a consistent amount of shut-eye has been elusive, your blood pressure is one more reason to solve the insomnia.