Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press wrote :
New research on napping provides the perfect excuse for office slackers,
finding that a little midday snooze seems to reduce risks for fatal heart
problems, especially among men.
In the largest study to date on the health
effects of napping, researchers tracked 23,681 healthy Greek adults for an
average of about six years. Those who napped at least three times weekly for
about half an hour had a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart attacks or
other heart problems than those who did not nap.
Most participants were in their 50s, and
the strongest evidence was in working men, according to the study, which
appears in Monday's issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
The researchers said naps might benefit
the heart by reducing stress, and jobs are a common source of stress.
It's likely that women reap similar
benefits from napping, but not enough of them died during the study to be sure,
said Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos, the study's senior author and a researcher at
Harvard University and the University of Athens Medical School.
Heart problems killed 48 women who were
studied, six of them working women, compared with 85 men, including 28 working
men.
A daytime siesta has long been part of
many cultures, especially those in warmer climates. Mediterranean-style eating
habits featuring fruits, vegetables, beans and olive oil have been credited
with contributing to relatively low rates of heart disease in those countries,
but the researchers wanted to see if napping also plays a role.
Exactly how stress is related to heart
disease is uncertain. Some researchers think it might be directly involved,
through unhealthy effects of stress hormones, or indirectly by causing people
to exercise less, overeat or smoke.
The researchers in the latest study
factored in diet, exercise, smoking and other habits that affect the heart but
still found napping seemed to help.
Previous studies have had conflicting
results. Some suggested napping might increase risk of death, but those mostly
involved elderly people whose daytime sleepiness reflected poor health,
Trichopoulos said.
His research team studied a broader range
of people, ages 20 to 86, who were generally healthy when the study began.
Still, some offices allow on-the-job naps,
and many workers say it makes them more, not less, productive.
Source : www.health.discovery.com
