USA: 30 Minute Nap, 3 Times/Week, Means You Are Less Prone To Death By HD

Photo: Tom Merton/ Getty

NEW YORK (Time Magazine), November 24, 2007:

Snoozing cats may lose an awful lot of their day to sack time, but they may be on to something.

A Greek study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this year showed that people who nap at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes are 37% less likely to die from heart disease.

Another study, published in the online edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, provided a possible reason: blood pressure eases in the time just before sleep. The coronary value of a siesta, however, is still questionable.

Researchers have yet to explore whether blood pressure rises upon waking from a nap. Snoozing certainly isn't a guarantee against getting heart disease, but the studies do provide an excuse for half an hour of downtime.

Copyright 2007 Time Inc.
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Is Siesta More Beneficial Than Nocturnal Sleep?

Archives of Internal Medicine, October 22, 2007, published this information authored by Sanjay R. Patel, MD, MS:

Naska et al1 report that siesta or daytime napping is associated with reduced coronary mortality and has stronger protective effects among those who work. They demonstrate that this effect is independent of potential confounders such as differences in physical activity or diet.

Unfortunately, Naska et al1 fail to consider overall sleep habits in their work. Short-term sleep deprivation has been shown to have important effects on inflammatory, metabolic, and neuronal pathways including elevations in C-reactive peptide level, insulin resistance, and sympathetic activity, which may promote development of coronary disease.

In addition, long-term studies suggest that sleep duration is an independent predictor for both incident cardiovascular disease and mortality, exhibiting a U-shaped association, with the minimum risk in those obtaining 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

Thus, the protective effects of daytime naps may be mediated by increasing total sleep time among those who do not obtain sufficient sleep at night.

Archives Of Internal Medicine) October 22, 2007