14 DAY TRIAL // Most of us are busy with work from early in the morning until late at night, so, understandably, enjoying a midday nap is pretty much out of the question.
All the same, a recent investigation found that there are health perks to sleeping in the afternoon, among them lower blood pressure and, consequently, prescription for fewer antihypertensives.
As illustrated in the graphic below, the average systolic blood pressure, which is the pressure in the arteries during contractions of the heart muscle, tends to be considerably lower in folks who nap in the afternoon. This is true both for daytime and for nighttime measurements.
Researchers learned this during a study that entailed keeping tabs on the blood pressure of 386 middle aged patients diagnosed with arterial hypertension. Apparently, those who slept in the afternoon were better off than the others, even when accounting for variables such as BMI, gender, smoking habits and other risk factors.
Specifically, the study documented a 5% lower average systolic blood pressure in the midday sleepers who were closely monitored as part of this investigation, Science Daily informs.
What's more, the investigation revealed that, the more sleep the study participants enjoyed in the afternoon, the better of their cardiovascular system was.
“We found that midday sleep is associated with lower 24 hour blood pressure, an enhanced fall of BP [blood pressure] in night, and less damage to the arteries and the heart.”
“The longer the midday sleep, the lower the systolic BP levels and probably fewer drugs needed to lower BP,” said study lead author Manolis Kallistratos with the Asklepieion Voula General Hospital in Athens, Greece, in a statement.
