According to a study, the need for an afternoon nap could be an indicator that you are at risk for a stroke.
Researchers from China analyzed the daytime sleeping habits of sixty thousand middle-aged and elderly Britons and monitored their health for fifteen years.
Those who ‘usually’ napped were discovered to be 12 percent more likely to acquire hypertension than those who ‘never’ napped.
In addition, they were roughly a quarter more likely to experience a stroke.
However, Hunan’s Xiangya Hospital Central South University academics are sceptical that naps are to blame.
Instead, the constant desire for a “siesta” could be a sign of poor sleep quality, which has been frequently linked to high blood pressure over the years.
And individuals who do not get enough sleep are more likely to have poor health, such as obesity.
Approximately one-third of adults in the United Kingdom and fifty percent of adults in the United States have hypertension, which strains blood vessels, the heart, and other organs.
It increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Numerous studies have shown that persons who nap, even for 30 minutes each day, tend to have higher blood pressure in the evening.
However, the truth remains obscure, as contrary findings have been discovered by certain researchers.
The latest study, published in the journal Hypertension, sought to clarify the controversy.
Dr. E. Wang and his colleagues utilized data from the UK Biobank, a database comprising the health records of 500,000 Britons aged 40 to 69 who regularly contribute lifestyle information.
Between 2006 and 2019, around 60,686 Biobank participants gave information on their napping habits four times.
All participants were asked if they nap during the day and given the options ‘rarely/never,’ ‘sometimes,’ and ‘frequently.’
Depending on their response, the researchers divided the volunteers into one of these three groups.
Due to the wording of the question, experts were unable to compute the number of days per week and the duration of volunteers’ naps.
Younger groups were more vulnerable to the dangers of daytime napping.
Those under 60 who napped frequently were 20% more likely to have hypertension than those who never napped.
The risk was half that of older adults.
Compared to ‘never’ and ‘sometimes’ nappers, a greater proportion of ‘regular’ nappers were male, had lower levels of education and income, were smokers, daily alcoholic beverage consumers, and suffered from insomnia and snoring.
A separate study revealed that the chance of developing high blood pressure increased by 40% for each rise of one napping category, from never to seldom or from rarely to frequently.
However, Dr. Michael Grandner, a specialist on sleep at the University of Arizona, noted that napping may not be the cause.
Although napping in and of itself is not dangerous, many nappers do so due to poor nighttime sleep, he said.
Poor nighttime sleep is related to worse health, and naps cannot compensate for this.
Dr. Grandner stated, “This study is consistent with previous research indicating that napping more frequently appears to be associated with an increased risk for heart health problems and other concerns.
The authors of the study advocated for further investigation into the associations between a good sleep pattern, including daytime napping, and heart health.
At the onset of the study, those who had a stroke or hypertension were excluded from the findings.
The authors highlighted that they only examined daytime napping frequency and not nap duration, therefore it is unknown whether sleep duration influences blood pressure and stroke risks.
And participants were either middle-aged or elderly Britons, so the findings may not apply to other age or ethnic groups.
The National Health Service recommends six to nine hours of sleep per night.
If you do not get enough sleep, your blood pressure will remain elevated for a longer amount of time.
