We already know the benefits of the nap on stress or memory. According to a new study, it may also decrease the risk of stroke or heart attack.
10 to 20 minutes to get back in shape. Take a nap feels good, improves concentration, reduces stress, and allows you to be more efficient, especially at work. A new study, published in the journal Heart, shows that taking a nap once or twice a week is enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks or strokes.
Studies had already been conducted on the subject, but they did not take into account the frequency of naps. To address this, the researchers therefore examined the frequency of naps and their average duration, as well as the risks of cardiovascular illnesses fatal or not (heart attack, stroke, heart failure).
3462 people were randomly selected in Lausanne, Switzerland to participate in the study. Aged between 35 and 75, they were recruited between 2003 and 2006 as part of the study called CoLaus. Between 2009 and 2012, the first assessment of the participants took place. On this occasion, the researchers took the opportunity to collect information on their sleep and nap habits the previous week. Then, their state of health was monitored for the next five years.
One to two naps per week, risks halved
Of the participants, 58% said they had not taken a nap in the previous week, 19% (or one in five) said they had taken one or two naps, 12% (or one in ten) said they took three to five naps, 11% took six to seven.
In all, 155 fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular “events” were observed during the follow-up period. In people taking one to two naps a week, the risk of cardiovascular problems was halved (48%) compared to those who had not taken a nap at all.
This trend did not change after taking into account certain factors, such as age, the duration of sleep at night, the risks of cardiovascular diseases such ashigh blood pressure or cholesterol.
Taking even more naps doesn’t change anything.
However, the researchers found that in people who took three to seven naps a week, the risk of cardiovascular disease did not decrease as much. Since this is an observational study, they stress that they do not know the causes of this phenomenon.
In an editorial, doctors Yue Leng and Kristine Yaffe, from the University of California at San Francisco (USA), point out that research in this area is hampered by the lack of a real scale to measure naps. They add all the same: “Although the exact physiological pathways linking napping to cardiovascular disease risks are unclear, this study contributes to the ongoing debate about the health implications of napping and suggests that it may not only be the duration, but also the frequency that counts”.