Plenty of people talk about how much they love to nap, and it turns out that their heart may love it too. A new study details are how naps taken in moderation can be extremely beneficial to the heart. The word on this comes from a Swiss journal known simply as “Heart”.
The Study
What the researchers discovered was that Swiss adults who took a nap during the day at least once or twice per week had a reduced risk of heart disease. They compared the results to those who didn’t take naps, and the results were staggering.
There were more than 3,500 Swiss adults who signed up for the study. They ranged in age from 35 to 75, and they provided the researchers with details of their napping habits as well as their nighttime sleeping arrangements. They also added in other details about their demographics and lifestyle. They agreed to be subjected to a number of health-related tests to have data for the researchers to see how they held up when taking naps or not.
Slightly over half of the people who participated in the study said that they had not taken any naps at all in the previous week leading up to the study. Those who did say they had taken a nap broke down like this: 667 said they had taken one or two, 411 said they had taken three to five, and 370 said they took six or seven (in other words they took a daytime nap practically every day).
The studies continued on for years and kept track of heart problems and other issues. They went on to ask the participants requests about their health eight years after the study first began. They found that those who took at least one to two naps per week were in the best position to avoid heart disease. Those who took more than one or two naps per week did not have as strong of a positive correlation in favor of avoiding heart disease.
What You Can Do
Taking a quick nap can help deal with issues beyond just the heart. They are a great way to compensate for a lack of nighttime sleep that many of us experience. They are also a valuable tool to use in the constant battle against stress. A great strategy you can use is to relax before a nap by playing pots of gold and rainbows within Irish slots for 10-15 minutes. You may even find that you are able to fall asleep faster at night.
There are other associated risks of not getting enough sleep that are known about including obesity, diabetes, and mental issues. It makes sense to try to squeeze in naps when you can during the week. Getting at least the one or two that some participants did in this study seemed to have a big impact on their overall health and ability to avoid the risk of heart disease. These obviously didn’t take into account the participants’ diet or exercise but it does show the importance of sleep.
One interesting note at the end here is that the Swiss study did not find a correlation between naps and better heart health for those who were over the age of sixty-five. It is not clear why people in that age group did not see the same results as the other ages, but the theory is that they have more health problems than younger generations on average anyway, and because they also tend to nap more often anyway. More research may shine more light on this question.