ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Naps are not just for kids. On a typical day, about one-third of adults manage to take a nap. From allowing you to feel physically refreshed to helping you stay cognitively fit, there are a lot of benefits to napping. For some people, naps can actually do more harm than good.
Stress, smoking, fast foods—these are all risk factors for high blood pressure.
“We call it a silent killer because people don’t pay much attention to it until you have, what we call, end organ damage.” Explains Siddharth Wayangankar, MD, MPH at Interventional Cardiologist Baptist Health.
A recent study from China shows that taking a midday nap may also raise your blood pressure. Researchers looked at more than 350 thousand people and found that those who napped were 12 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure and 24 percent more likely to have a stroke than those who didn’t take naps. The risk was even higher for people under 60 who napped, raising their high blood pressure risk by 20 percent.
Lisa Smith says, “I was not able to sleep.”
People who have insomnia or who have difficulty taking short naps should also not take naps. Experts say naps eat away at your daily sleep quota making it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.
But for most people, naps are beneficial if done properly: nap between one PM and three PM, keep the nap short – no more than 20 to 30 minutes – and try napping on the couch instead of your bed so you don’t sleep too long.
One expert suggests a surprising way to make a nap work for you – have a cup of coffee before you lie down. By the time you wake up, the caffeine will have kicked in to help you get back to work.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2009/07/29/nap-time/
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19120
https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/how-to-take-a-nap#how-to-nap
ARE NAPS REALLY BENEFICIAL?
REPORT #3137
BACKGROUND: Some research points to napping as beneficial to employee productivity, while other research suggests that long naps may actually be linked to chronic disease. However, there are numerous benefits when it comes to napping. Some benefits are that it curbs the side effects of temporary sleep deprivation. Napping can also improve memory function and job performance. Studies continue to show that for those who have hypertension, a short nap can help improve their readings. Napping can help prevent mistakes in judgment or accidents while driving or operating machinery. And, a brief nap can help calm the body of stress, allow the body to heal inflammation and injury, and improve mood. The Mayo Clinic recommends that naps be taken between 2pm and 3pm and last between 10 and 30 minutes.
(Source: https://www.soundsleephealth.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-napping/)
DISADVANTAGES OF NAPPING: According to the National Sleep Foundation, as many as a third of adults regularly partake in a midday catnap in the U.S. Some studies have found that adults who take long naps during the day may be more likely to have conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression. The urge to sleep during the day may be a sign that they are not getting enough sleep at night, which is associated with a higher risk of developing those chronic conditions. Daytime drowsiness may also be a sign that you are getting low-quality sleep, which may indicate a sleep disorder. Following a few guidelines when it comes to sleep will help ensure you get the most benefit. Timing a nap right is very important. Sleep in the early afternoon when your body experiences a natural circadian dip and keep it short. For a high-quality rest, be sure to find a quiet, cozy spot where you won’t be distracted. Finally, examine the motivation to nap. Are you getting too little sleep, restless sleep, too much sleep, and then discuss with your doctor.
(Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/is-your-daily-nap-doing-more-harm-than-good)
RESEARCH SHOWS NAPS GOOD FOR BRAIN HEALTH: Taking daytime naps may help maintain brain health as we age, according to a new study. On average, the difference in brain volume between nappers and non-nappers was equivalent to 2.5 to 6.5 years of aging. “Our findings suggest that, for some people, short daytime naps may be a part of the puzzle that could help preserve the health of the brain as we get older,” said senior author Victoria Garfield, a senior research fellow at University College of London. Results showed a small but significant increase in brain volume in people who have a genetic signature associated with taking daytime naps. Researchers used a technique called Mendelian randomization to analyze DNA samples and brain scans from 35,080 people aged 40 to 69 involved in the UK Biobank study. They looked at sections of genetic code linked to people’s likelihood of regular napping and then compared brain health and cognition results between those with the napping genes and those without.
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Wesley Roberts
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