Inadequate sleep has been identified as a risk factor for a variety of health consequences. Short sleep durations and daytime sleepiness, an indicator of insufficient sleep and/or poor sleep quality, have been identified as risk factors for hypertension in the adult population, but less evidence demonstrates such relations within child and early adolescent samples. Furthermore, mechanisms by which sleep influences blood pressure (BP) during youth are unclear. Using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the present study examined school-night sleep duration, weekend night sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness as predictors of hypertension in a sample of sixth graders (N=485) and tested body mass index (BMI) as a possible mediator. Findings demonstrated differential gender patterns in which daytime sleepiness predicted risk for hypertension among girls, while only school-night and weekend night sleep duration were significant predictors among boys. Additionally, sleep variables indirectly predicted both systolic and diastolic BP via BMI only among the total sample and boys. Findings provide clarification for the influence of sleep on BP during early adolescence and suggest the need for gender-specific designs in future research and application endeavors.