A new study suggests that taking a midday nap is beneficial to one's health because it helps reduce blood pressure which lowers the risk of heart attack.
For his study aimed at determining the effects of midday naps on health, Dr Manolis Kallistratos, a cardiologist at Asklepieion Voula General Hospital in Athens, Greece, and his colleagues examined 386 patients with an average age of 61 who were diagnosed with arterial hypertension. They looked at multiple data sets including participants' midday sleep time in minutes, blood pressure inside and outside the work place, pulse wave velocity, lifestyle habits, body mass index (BMI), and cardio data.
The researchers also considered other factors that could affect the results, including age, gender, BMI, smoking, exercise routine, salt, alcohol and coffee consumptions.
The analysis showed that those who regularly take midday naps enjoy a decrease in blood pressure of five percent as compared to those who don't snooze. Their average systolic BP readings were also lowered – four percent when awake and six percent during night-time sleep. Midday naps turned out to be good for the heart as well because these sleepers pulse-wave velocity levels were 11 percent lower, indicating less heart damage due to high blood pressure.
"Although the mean BP decrease seems low, it has to be mentioned that reductions as small as 2 mmHg in systolic blood pressure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by up to 10%," Dr Kallistratos said in a news release.
"Our study shows that not only is midday sleep associated with lower blood pressure, but longer sleeps are even more beneficial. Midday sleepers had greater dips in blood pressure while sleeping at night which is associated with better health outcomes. We also found that hypertensive patients who slept at noon were under fewer antihypertensive medications compared to those who didn't sleep midday," Dr Kallistratos added.
Earlier studies found that amidday nap or power nap can increase alertness, reduce stress, and improve cognitive functioning during the day. The Sleep Foundation recommends keeping naps between 15 and 30 minutes.
The study was presented on August 29 at the SC Congress.
