Frequent naps are associated with high blood pressure and stroke, new studies show

• New studies show that taking regular naps can increase your risk of high blood pressure and stroke.
• Compared to those who reported never taking a nap, those who took a nap were 12% more likely to develop high blood pressure and 24% more likely to have a stroke.
• “This may be because the nap itself is not harmful, but many people take a nap because of lack of sleep at night.”

Afternoon naps may seem harmless, but new research suggests that regular nap schedules can hurt you. Heart health..

New research published in High blood pressureThe American Heart Association journal states that people who often take naps develop high blood pressure, stroke.. This is the first study using both long-term participant observational analysis and Mendel’s laws. This is a genetic risk test to investigate whether frequent naps are associated with high blood pressure and ischemic stroke.

The researchers examined 358,451 participants from UK Biobank without hypertension or stroke. They used these participants to analyze the association between naps and initial reports of stroke or hypertension, with an average follow-up report of approximately 11 years. Participants were divided into “totally / rare”, “occasional”, or “normal” groups based on the frequency of self-reported naps.

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In this study, people who normally took a nap were 12% more likely to develop high blood pressure and 24% more likely to have a stroke than those who reported that they had never taken a nap. Researchers also found that participants under the age of 60 who normally take a nap have a 20% higher risk of developing high blood pressure than people of the same age who have never taken a nap. After age 60, a regular nap had a 10% increased risk of high blood pressure compared to those who reported never taking a nap.

Men have a higher proportion of regular naps, with lower levels of education and income reported Cigarette smokingDaily drinking, insomnia, snore And being a night person compared to someone who never or sometimes takes a nap.

About three-quarters of participants remained in the same nap category throughout the study (never, sometimes, usually). Mendel’s randomization showed that the risk of hypertension increased by 40% when the frequency of naps increased by one category (sometimes or sometimes from time to time). Frequent naps were also associated with a genetic predisposition to hypertension risk.

These results were true even after researchers excluded people at high risk of high blood pressure. Type 2 diabetesExisting hypertension, High cholesterolPeople with sleep disorders and night shift work.

The study concluded that the analysis demonstrated that increased daytime nap frequency may be a risk factor for essential hypertension. The causal link between increased nap frequency and ischemic stroke was further supported by both randomized and observed results.

and statement E Wang, Ph.D., MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Central South University, published by the author of the study, the American Heart Association, explains: You may enjoy taking a nap on a regular or daily basis. ”

“This may be because naps themselves are not harmful, but many people take naps because of lack of sleep at night. Sleep deprivation at night is associated with poor health, and naps do it. Not enough to make up, “said a sleep expert, American Heart Association’s New Life’s Essential 8 Cardiovascular Health ScoreAdded sleep time in June 2022 as the eighth indicator to measure optimal heart and brain health. “This study reflects other findings that generally show that increasing naps seems to reflect an increased risk of heart health and other problems.” Grander said at the University of Arizona. He was a director of the Sleep Health Research Program and Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at Thuson, an associate professor of psychiatry, and was not involved in the study.

As with any study, there are some important limitations to consider. For example, researchers only collected nap frequency, not duration, so there is no information on how or whether nap length affects blood pressure or stroke risk. In addition, the frequency of naps was self-reported without objective measurements, so the estimates are immeasurable. Participants in this study were primarily middle-aged and elderly Europeans, so the results may not be generalized. Finally, researchers have not yet discovered the biological mechanism of the effects of naps on blood pressure regulation or stroke, so additional research is needed before reaching this conclusion.

So what can we remove from this new study?

Sleep is an important part of our heart health. If we can’t get a good night’s sleep and increase the daytime naps to make up for the lost Z, our heart health is still at the expense.Make sure you get all the qualities to avoid the extra risk of high blood pressure and stroke Sleep time you need Minimize naps.