Do you take that sweet after-lunch nap or a quick power nap before going to the gym? Ah! that may not be the right thing to do. A new study published in Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association has revealed that people who often take a nap have higher chances of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke.
Reportedly, the study reached the conclusion after using data from over 360,000 participants. Blood, urine, and saliva samples in addition to information about the lifestyles of the participants were collected for the study.
Accordingly, individuals who took frequent breaks for sleeping had a 12 percent higher chance of developing blood pressure issues. Moreover, it also increased the risk of stroke by 24 percent. The study also noted that when compared to non-napping people, for individuals younger than 60, napping frequently increased the chance of developing high blood pressure by at least 20 percent.
How poor night’s sleep can impact?
Explaining the rationale behind the decision, experts remarked that taking more sleep breaks was intricately connected to not getting a proper night’s sleep. The study finds out that napping is a warning of an underlying sleep disorder in some individuals. ()
“Poor sleep at night is associated with poorer health, and naps are not enough to make up for that. This study echoes other findings that generally show that taking more naps seems to reflect an increased risk for problems with heart health and other issues.” said one of the experts.
However, it is equally important to note that the majority of the people who took part in the study and took frequent naps smoked cigarettes, drank daily, snored, had insomnia, and reported being evening people.
A 15 to 20 minutes nap is encouraged by the Doctors and experts.
