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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – A study published in the British Cardiovascular Society journal Heart suggests that taking daytime naps once or twice a week may prove to be beneficial to cardiovascular health. The observational study was authored by Nadine Häusler, Jose Haba-Rubio, Raphael Heinzer, and Pedro Marques-Vidal.
In their study, the researchers looked at whether napping can reduce the risk of heart issues. They also looked at how the frequency and duration of naps can affect the incidence of cardiovascular events. They used self-reported data and continuous observation of 3,462 Swiss adults between the ages of 35 and 75 over a period amounting to a little over five years.
Their study found out that there was an association between napping and a reduced risk of heart related incidents such as heart attacks, strokes, or heart failure. The data gathered by the researchers showed that napping during the day leads to a 48 percent decrease in such cardiovascular events.
While the study did show a link between daytime napping and better heart health, the study did find out that there was no link between napping duration and frequency to heart health. This meant that napping more than once or twice a week and doing it for longer periods had little to no effect in increasing or decreasing one’s risk of heart related incidences.
The observational nature of the study did mean that they were not able to figure out the reasons why napping during the day led to better heart health. The study’s lead proponent, Nadine Häusler, did hypothesize that napping provides some stress relief brought about by fewer hours of sleep at night.
It’s common knowledge that sleep is vital to one’s overall health and wellness,and that not getting enough sleep can cause a lot of negative effects. Getting fewer hours of sleep can mess up the body’s many interlinked systems; a study even showed how lack of sleep affects fat metabolism.
Getting too much sleep is not recommended either; a study showed how sleeping for more than 9 hours had an increased risk of getting a heart attack (34 percent to be exact). This just shows how getting the right amount of sleep can help take care of one’s cardiovascular health. Getting too much or too little can be detrimental to the body.
Although the takeaway from these different scientific studies might be that staying healthy, sleep will not be the right action to take when someone does experience a heart attack. The best way to help someone having a heart attack or a stroke is to get them medical attention as soon as possible. While waiting for emergency services to arrive though, it is imperative to conduct first aid to help stabilize the patient; getting CPR and first aid training from Lifesaver Education and similar institutions can be very helpful.
Sleep is an important tool in keeping the body healthy, especially in maintaining heart health. Getting a healthy amount of rest allows the body to repair itself and the risk of developing any health conditions is reduced significantly.