Those who snooze in the afternoon have reason to smile given new research findings that suggest that men particularly benefit from a short afternoon nap. Research suggests that a little shut-eye actually cuts down the risk of life-threatening heart problems.
During the research activity which took place over a period of 6 years and tracked 23681 Greek adults who enjoyed good health, an attempt was made to learn about the health potential of a short afternoon nap.
The study group consisted of Greek people in the age group of 50 upward and consisted of both men and women. The research findings that will be published in Archives of Internal Medicine indicated that people who snooze for approximately half an hour at least three times in a week benefited by a 37% cut in risk of fatalities due to heart problems.
The primary benefit, researchers say that napping provides is in lowering stress levels. While it is clear that men stand to gain a lot by taking a break with a short nap, research findings are not that clear about the same for women. Sharing this feedback from the research, the lead author and researcher at Harvard University, Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos stated that 85 men of whom 28 were working men died due to heart related problems during the study. In comparison, a relatively smaller group of 48 women of whom 6 were working, succumbed to heart related problems during the study.
While researchers are confident about the findings of their study, they have not been able to pinpoint the link between stress and heart disease. Theories range from a direct correlation to the health issues caused by stress hormones and a more subtle link that suggests that stress causes unhealthy habits like smoking, overeating and undertaking very little physical exercise.
The study made conclusive findings about the positive effects of napping despite including influencers such as 'diet, exercise and smoking'.
A more sweeping statement in favour of those who snooze was made by Dr. Marvin Wooten, a sleep specialist at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee. Dr.Wooten suggested that people in the study group who napped may take greater care about their general well-being which could ultimately favour a healthy heart.
