A divorce not only leaves you with a broken heart, it may lead to an early death, according to a recent study.

A growing body of research links divorce to significant negative health effects, such as high blood pressure, and even early death. Researchers from the University of Arizona found that divorce-related sleep troubles may be partly to blame.

"In the initial few months after a separation, sleep problems are probably pretty normal, and this is an adjustment process that people can typically cope with well," David Sbarra, co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology , said in a statement. "But sleep problems that persist for an extended period may mean something different. It may mean that people are potentially becoming depressed, that they're struggling with getting their life going again, and it is these people that are particularly susceptible to health problems."

For the study, researchers looked at 138 people who had physically separated from or divorced their partner about 16 weeks before the start of the study.

Study participants were asked to report on their quality of sleep during three lab visits over a seven-and-a-half-month period, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, which takes into consideration sleep issues ranging from tossing and turning to snoring to difficulty falling and staying asleep. Participants' blood pressure also was measured at each of the three lab visits.

The research team found that the longer peoples' sleep problems persisted after their separation, the more likely those problems were to have an adverse effect on blood pressure.

Although the research team did not observe a relationship between sleep complaints and blood pressure levels, they did observe a delayed effect, with participants showing increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure in later visits as a function of earlier sleep problems.

"What we found was if you're having sleep problems up to about 10 weeks after your separation, they don't appear to be associated with your future increase in blood pressure," Sbarra said. "However, after 10 or so weeks -- after some sustained period of time -- there seems to be a cumulative bad effect."

Kendra Krietsh, lead author of the study, suggests that people who have persistent difficulties sleeping after a divorce address the issue by seeking out cognitive behavioral therapy, making daily schedule adjustments that promote healthy sleep, or finding new ways to relax at bedtime.

"If somebody is going through a divorce and unable to sleep, they really need to get some help or it could lead to problems," Krietsh said.

Krietsh added that the findings show how important it is for people to value sleep and take care of themselves.

The findings were recently published in the journal Health Psychology.