Siestas once or twice a week may cut heart attack risk by half
What are the beneficial effects of having a daytime snooze? Researchers have been looking at this question for years.
Keystone / Andree-noelle Pot
A daytime nap taken once or twice a week could halve the risk of a heart attack or stroke, according to new research. But no such link was established for more frequent siestas or napping duration.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/sb
العربية
ar
القيام بقيلولة مرة أو مرّتيْن في الأسبوع قد يقلل خطر الإصابة بالنوبات القلبية إلى النصف
What are the beneficial effects of having a daytime snooze? Their impact on the heart has been researched in detail but many published studies have not examined the question of frequency.
New research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Heart publicationExternal link looked at the relationship between napping frequency and average nap duration and the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease incidents, such as heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.
Analysing the results from 3,462 randomly selected residents aged 35-75 who live in Lausanne in western Switzerland, the researchers found that occasional napping, once to twice weekly, was associated with an almost halving in attack/stroke/heart failure risk (48%) compared with those who didn’t nap at all.
But no association was found for more frequent siestas or napping duration, the researchers said.
For the study, participants were registered between 2009 and 2012 and their health was monitored for an average of five years. During the monitoring period, there were 155 fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease ‘events’.
During interviews, over half (58%) of the participants said they hadn’t napped during the previous week; around one in five (19%, 667) said they had taken one to two naps; around one in ten (12%, 411) said they had taken three to five; while a similar proportion (11%, 370) said they had taken six to seven.
Fans of daytime siestas (3-7 naps a week) tended to be older, male, smokers, weigh more, and sleep longer at night than those who said they didn’t nap during the day.
The authors of the study published online in the journal Heart, said: “The study of napping is a challenging, but also a promising field with potentially significant public health implications. While there remain more questions than answers, it is time to start unveiling the power of naps for a supercharged heart.”
More
More
Rocking improves both sleep and memory
This content was published on
The findings could be used to treat sleep and memory disorders, say the universities of Geneva and Lausanne and the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), which carried out the research. In a controlled test, 18 healthy young adults spent two nights at the HUG Sleep Medicine Centre, once on a swaying bed and the other…
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Man charged with flying drone at women’s Euro 2025
This content was published on
A man flew a drone around the venue on Wednesday evening during the first match of the Women's EURO 2025 in St. Gallen. The 30-year-old violated the absolute ban on flying during match days. He was reported to the police.
More than 250 Swiss companies sign CO2 reduction initiative
This content was published on
A total of 257 companies from Switzerland have signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In doing so, they are committing to CO2 reduction targets that are compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Swiss accident prevention group sees federal targets at risk
This content was published on
The Swiss government's target for accident figures is at risk, reckons Mario Cavegn, member of the executive board of the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention.
Feminicide: Swiss justice minister calls for electronic monitoring
This content was published on
Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans has called for electronic monitoring and an ankle bracelet warning system for perpetrators of violence against women.
This content was published on
American artist Chaka Khan ‘and friends’ opened the 59th Montreux Jazz Festival on Friday. For over three hours, their show, dedicated to their friend and mentor Quincy Jones, thrilled the audience,
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
You can learn a new language when deeply asleep
This content was published on
Research: it's possible to learn new vocabulary in a foreign language during certain phases of deep sleep and retrieve it unconsciously when awake.
This content was published on
The findings could be used to treat sleep and memory disorders, say the universities of Geneva and Lausanne and the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), which carried out the research. In a controlled test, 18 healthy young adults spent two nights at the HUG Sleep Medicine Centre, once on a swaying bed and the other…
Sleeping and waking controlled by same part of brain
This content was published on
Swiss researchers have shown that a single area of the brain – the thalamus – is responsible both for the actions of falling asleep and waking up.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.