Naps for fun and health benefits

Naps are defined as mid-day sleeping of under an hour. Longer sleep periods during the day are called siestas.

Recent research actually shows that midday naps can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially for males. A report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2007 reported on a large-scale study of people in Greece. Naps reduced the risk of heart problems about as much as statin drugs do.

A study in 2006 concluded that regular naps of less than 30 minutes can improve productivity and mental performance. Regular longer naps are associated with higher mortality. The authors felt that regular nappers could get the most out of their naps by "training" the body to awaken after a short nap.

People who napped at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week, were 37 percent less likely to die from heart disease. Occasional nappers had a 12 percent reduction. Although there is always a risk that daytime naps lead to nighttime insomnia, individuals can learn the specific needs and response of their bodies. Many people can nap in the daytime without nighttime problems. A study of seniors in a retirement community found no significant impact of napping.

Between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., your body naturally experiences a small dip in temperature, signaling the brain to produce the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Sleep plays an important, if not wholly understood, part in formation of long term memory. Memories are consolidated during sleep. Recent research found that short naps can be very effective in facilitating learning. Thus the "power nap". It is thought that power nap might accelerate memory consolidation by inducing NREM sleep.

How to take a power nap

What used to be called a catnap is now called a power nap. The word "power" makes it acceptable for working adults who think of themselves as on the top of their game and helps sell napping to people who might otherwise think of it as an activity for small children and old people. Calling is a "power nap" makes it socially acceptable.

Usually the power nap is under 20 minutes, so the brain doesn’t have time to go through all the phases of sleep. Longer naps often leave the person groggy upon waking, but power naps can be refreshing without a sleepy hangover.

Some people take their power nap at their place of work - at their desk chair for instance. More ambitious nappers have a cot near their office or even go out to their car for a nap. Most do not use alarm clocks.

Who's napping?

Little kids often nap as part of their regular day. Old people are also stereotypical nappers. In both these cases, age-related sleep patterns can explain part of the predilication. A Pew Research Center survey found that 34% of U.S. adults nap on any given day. Among those past age 80, the percentage was 52%. Men are more like to nap than women and regular exercisers were more likely to nap than sedentary people.

Siestas

The tradition of the siesta in some countries and cultures has posed a question for a long time: is taking a siesta on a regular basis good for you?

It has long been known that people in these countries generally have lower rates of fatal heart disease than in siesta-less countries, but nobody ever knew if there was a cause and effect relationship. Maybe other factors such as diet were responsible for fewer heart attacks. A study conducted by epidemiologists at the University of Athens in 2007 attempted to find out. Using data from over 23,000 people and sophisticated statistical techniques, they found that siestas were correlated with lower rates in fatal heart attacks, especially in working men.

Meanwhile, a study conducted at Hadassah University Hospital in Israel in 2005 looked at a sample of 455 70-year olds and found that those who practiced siestas had a higher death rate.

An earlier (2003) Israeli study found that long siestas (over 2 hours) were correlated with increased mortality among men, but that shorter naps and siestas for women had no major correlation with mortality. And siestas appeared to be worse among men with chronic health problems.

A 2000 study by Harvard Medical School researchers of people in Costa Rica found that daily sieastas in fact increased the effect of heart attacks.

So the evidence is conflicting. Researchers tend to agree that resting in the afternoon without sleeping does not pose any health risk and is often very beneficial.

According to The Economist, the Spanish government recently launched a campaign to eliminate the tradition of siestas. Spaniards reportedly sleep an average of 40 minutes less per night than other Europeans and have the highest rate of workplace accidents in the European Union.