Health
Naps and coronary mortality
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 26, 2007
A prospective study of 23,681 people living in Greece found that taking a midday nap at least three times a week for 30 minutes lowered coronary mortality by more than one-third among men and women.
The study, in the Feb. 12 Archives of Internal Medicine, followed participants, who had no history of coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer, for an average of 6.3 years.
The apparent protective effect of siestas was particularly strong among working men and weaker among those not working, mainly retirees. The authors, from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Athens Medical School in Greece, believe that an afternoon nap in a healthy individual might act as a stress-releasing process, because there is considerable evidence that stress has both short- and long-term adverse effects on incidence and mortality from coronary heart disease.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/02/26/hlbf0226.htm.
