Most mornings, once I'm fully awake, I usually have lots of energy and itching to jump into my day. But regardless of how high my energy level starts out in the morning, by mid-afternoon I'm usually longing for a quick nap. Napping always feels kind of weird though, because they're equated with laziness, babies and oldsters, at least in our culture.
So when I saw a teaser on the Sunday morning news about naps being good for you, I listened with great interest.
Wow! Turns out naps reduce our risk of heart disease by 30 percent!
In the largest study to date on the health effects of napping, led by Dimitrios Trichopoulos of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Trichopoulos reports the study revealed you are 30 percent less likely to die of heart disease if you nap for 30 minutes three times a week.
This means that you could potentially add an extra 10 years over the next 30 by napping this way. That's pretty impressive, especially considering the fact that heart disease is the leading killer in the U.S. If you need an excuse to grab a nap in the middle of the day, this is it!
Oh, by the way, most participants of this 6-year study were in their 50s.
After I heard this, it got me wondering What other health benefits come from napping?
- Napping may enhance information processing and learning.
- Taking a nap after learning a difficult task might help you perform better.
- Naps can improve alertness, productivity, and mood.
- Napping may help deal with the stress of daily living.
Daytime napping has long been part of other cultures, especially those in warmer climates. Mediterranean-style diets that include fruits, vegetables, beans and olive oil have long been credited with contributing to relatively low rates of heart disease in those countries, but Trichoupoulos wanted to see if napping also plays a role.
The research team that conducted this study say further study is needed, but my feeling is that if you feel like napping and you have the opportunity, go for it. What could it possibily hurt?
Comments