New Study Says Napping Is Good For Heart Health
Whether you call them power naps or just naps, a new study shows they're a good thing and we're glad.
According to a story from the folks at Time, a new study from Switzerland says taking naps a couple times a week is actually a good thing for your heart.
The study involved almost 3,500 adults between the ages of 35 and 75 and included information about napping habits, nightly sleep patterns, demographics and other lifestyle information to come to its conclusion that napping is actually good for us.
According to the study most of us don't get enough sleep. No surprise there, but it's nice to know it's not just Americans facing this struggle. In the eight year follow-up to the study researches discovered that those who took one or two naps each week were less likely to have cardiovascular issues than the non-nappers. The connection between taking more naps and cardiovascular health wasn't as strong, so one or two a week seems to be the sweet spot.
While the ideal length for a nap wasn't determined in this study, most experts recommend about 20 minutes. Now we don't have to feel guilty about taking those wonderful Sunday afternoon naps, we're actually being good to ourselves. Not sure the boss is going to buy your explanation if he catches you sleeping at your desk, though, so you should probably do this at home.
You can read a more detailed explanation of this study in the British Medical Journal online.