Boost your productivity. Feel more fit. Be happier. A little nap during the day would have many benefits. A list that grows over the course of research, especially with a new study presented at the 68th meeting of the American College of Cardiology and published March 7. According to the researchers, regularly take the time to take a nap would allow effortlessly reduce blood pressure.
Also called blood pressure, this is the pressure of the blood in the arteries. When it is too high, it is then ahypertension. This cardiovascular disorder is frequent, since it concerns more than 10 million in France. Normal blood pressure ranges from 120 mmHg when the heart contracts (systolic pressure) to 80 mmHg when it relaxes (diastolic pressure). It is considered high when it exceeds 140 mmHg and / or 90 mmHg, respectively.
An average drop of 5 mmHg
Researchers studied the blood pressure of 212 people, an average of 62 years old. At the start of the study, they had an average blood pressure of 129.9 mmHg. Their lifestyle habits (consumption of alcohol, coffee and salt, level of physical activity) were also taken into account, as well as the speed of their pulse. All of them received the same medication, but only a portion of them took naps. It turned out that people who slept had systolic blood pressure 5.3 mmHg lower than those who did not (127.6 mmHg versus 132.9 mmHg).
The duration of rest also seemed to play on the tension. For each hour of a nap, the mean 24-hour systolic blood pressure was lowered by 3 mmHg. “These results are important because a drop in blood pressure of 2 mmHg can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, by up to 10%”, Explain in a press release Manolis Kallistratos, cardiologist at Asklepieion hospital in Voula (Greece).
Sleep is as effective in lowering blood pressure as other lifestyle changes, such as reducing salt or alcohol, the researchers say. It would also reduce the number of antihypertensive drugs prescribed. “We obviously don’t want to encourage people to sleep for hours on end during the day but on the other hand, they shouldn’t feel guilty if they can take a nap given the potential health benefits.”, concludes Dr Kallistratos.
Read also :
- Nearly one in two Americans suffer from cardiovascular disease
- High Blood Pressure: 5 Ways To Normalize Your Blood Pressure Naturally
