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Daytime Napping: Good Or Bad For You?

sherbetbizarre

Special Branch
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
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Daytime napping is bad for you... or is it?

Daytime Nappers Die Young

A 13-year study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has revealed that if you take naps during the day, your life is going to be short. Add it to the list.

The report, which was performed by researchers at Cambridge University, studied the habits of over 16,000 men and women in Britain and found that those who take naps during the day are almost a third more likely to die before they turn 65.

According to the report,

Among the 16,374 men and women who answered questions on napping habits between 1998 and 2000, a total of 3,251 died during the 13-year follow-up.
The biggest risks come from respiratory problems that napping is likely to induce (or as Stanford University calls them, SRBDs), and nappers who slept during the day for more than an hour had more than double the chance of dying from a respiratory illness than those who didn't nap at all.

But confusion remains: many pose that dormant or undiscovered illnesses actually inspire people to take daytime naps, not the other way around. The study itself admits to this:

In the United Kingdom, daytime napping is not part of the cultural norm, and in the absence of obvious disruptions in nighttime sleep patterns, it remains plausible that napping might be an early sign of system disregulation and a marker of future health problems.
The moral: take a nap if you're tired. But then wake up and go to the doctor.
http://gawker.com/daytime-nappers-to-di ... 1562556903
 
Um - does not the whole of the Mediterranean take a siesta? And have we not been told for years how much longer they live compared to our frenetic northern lifestyle?
 
Yessssssssssss .... :twothumbs:
Daytime Naps May Be Linked to Lower Incidence of Heart Attack And Stroke, Study Finds

A new study has found a potential link between having one or two daytime naps a week, and a reduced risk of heart attack and stroke. Any more napping than that though, and the benefits disappear.

Researchers monitored 3,462 volunteers in Switzerland for an average of a little over five years, getting them to note down their napping habits and then comparing those habits with incidents of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The figures showed that occasional napping – once or twice a week – was associated with a lower risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke compared with not napping at all.

That association disappeared with more frequent napping though, and the link wasn't present in the over 65s (perhaps due to more complex health issues).

"While the exact physiological pathways linking daytime napping to cardiovascular disease risk is not clear, [this research] contributes to the ongoing debate on the health implications of napping, and suggests that it might not only be the duration, but also the frequency that matters," a pair of psychiatry researchers who weren't involved in the study write ...
FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/one-or...an-reduce-the-risk-of-heart-attack-and-stroke
 
As a trained statistician I am bound to look for the flaw in any argument. Can't help wondering if someone who's free to nap in the afternoon and not be sacked is already under less stress.
 
I do tend to take a nap on the train. Sometimes in the morning, but primarily on my commute home, when I'm feeling knackered.
Trouble is, I sometimes wake myself up in the midst of piggy snoring noises and see other commuters staring strangely at me.
 
... Can't help wondering if someone who's free to nap in the afternoon and not be sacked is already under less stress.

That was indeed the case for me ... As I put it in the 'Work Ethic Amongst Members' thread:

By the time I was authorized to work from home 19 years ago I was quite content with my working life. ...

As I repeatedly tell younger folks, the most important thing to accumulate over the course of one's working life is 'slack'. The 4 jobs during the last 30 years have represented an unfolding progression of increased slack. Pursuing what really interests me, from home, on my own terms, and on my own schedule is more slack than I presumed I'd ever have.

The 'on my own schedule' bit means any time I got tired I'd simply take a nap. Catering to your body rather than the clock makes a big difference.
 
That sounds like a good life style, i think naps are as important for adults as they are for kids, reduces stress i should think, lowers blood pressure, probably all sorts of benefits?
 
That sounds like a good life style, i think naps are as important for adults as they are for kids, reduces stress i should think, lowers blood pressure, probably all sorts of benefits?

Napping certainly helps one's mood, motivation, and focus. When I get tired I become grumpy and my attention wanders.

On rare occasions I've come out of sleep with a new idea or perspective on a work-related issue that emerged within a dream.
 
Yes, i have had that as well, I was having trouble with something on a test run, i was driving me crazy, i had a good nights sleep and in a dream i had, i saw what i was doing wrong, when the real test was run, the problem i was having was the one solved in my dream, i aced the test.
 
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