my dog naps all day. he loves to find little sunny spots to melt away the hours between meals or walks, and it has me supremely jealous. as someone who usually has trouble napping, i am quite envious of anyone who can curl up on the couch for a midday siesta. after all, naps are refreshing, reinvigorating and good for you. right?well, that depends. the consensus among experts seems to be that the benefits of a daily snooze comes down to how long it is.one recent
study found that naps lasting longer than 60 minutes were associated with 30 per cent higher risk of all-cause death and a 34 per cent increase in the likelihood of cardiovascular disease compared to no napping. that research looked at more than 300,000 participants from more than 20 different studies, 40 per cent of whom said they napped regularly.researchers in that study also found that those increased risks of death were only present when the nap was paired with more than six hours of sleep per night.“a common view is that napping improves performance and counteracts the negative consequences of ‘sleep debt,'” study author, zhe pan, told
forbes. “our study challenges these widely held opinions.”other studies have found links between long naps and
diabetes,
stroke,
obesity, depression and anxiety. sleepiness during the day, and napping to relieve it, can also be a sign of an underlying health problem such as
parkinson’s disease. these risk factors appear to be more present in older people who generally get less sleep at night than younger people.and in case this data has you reaching for another cup of coffee instead of a sleep mask, there is plenty of evidence that napping can be good for you too.catnaps are also linked to increased levels of
positivity and ability to handle frustration, boosted energy levels and even
enhanced learning capabilities. the caveat though. is that you must keep them short. a little ‘power nap’ can unlock those benefits, and could even be good for your heart.“the results suggest that shorter naps (especially those less than 30 to 45 minutes) might improve heart health in people who sleep insufficiently at night,” said pan.
nap nauseakeeping your naps short also helps prevent against sleep inertia, or that feeling of grogginess and disorientation you may experience immediately after waking up. if you let your nap run a little longer, and fall into a deeper sleep, those sleep inertia symptoms tend to be more severe. there is also
evidence that longer and more frequent naps can affect your sleep at night, particularly for people with insomnia, or those who have trouble sleeping in general.
sleep is, of course, a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle as insufficient zzz’s can lead to chronic stress and poor mental health. and yet, it is something many canadians struggle with. according to the
government of canada, half of canadians have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, while one in five adults don’t find their sleep refreshing.with that in mind, napping may be a necessary part of making sure you get enough shut eye, especially if don’t sleep enough at night.so, the next time you stay up a little too late and feel your eyelids get a little heavy the next day, know that you might be doing your body — and mind — some good by catching dozing off for a few minutes. as long as it’s not more than sixty.
nick beare is a writer with healthing.ca.don’t miss the latest on covid-19, reopening and life. subscribe to healthing’s daily newsletter covid life.
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