Is taking naps good for your heart? New research from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Athens Medical School (UAMS) in Greece suggests that the answer may be yes. In a new large, prospective study, researchers found that midday napping  reduced coronary mortality by about one-third among men and women.

The researchers looked at 23,681 individuals living in Greece who, at the beginning of the study, had no history of coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer. The study participants were followed for an average of 6.3 years. The results showed that people who regularly took siestas, defined by the researchers as napping at least three times per week for an average of at least 30 minutes, had a 37 percent lower coronary mortality than those not taking siestas. Occasional nappers showed a statistically non-significant 12 percent reduction in coronary mortality. The apparent protective effect of siestas was particularly strong among working men and weaker among those not working, mainly retirees. Among working women, there were too few deaths to allow inferences.

The study authors believe that an afternoon siesta in a healthy individual may act as a stress-releasing process, since there is considerable evidence that stress has both short- and long-term adverse effects on the incidence of and mortality from coronary heart disease.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, Feb. 12, 2007