American Heart Association study shows link between frequent naps and high blood pressure.
- Frequent or usual daytime napping in adults was associated with a 24% high risk of having a stroke and a 12% higher risk of developing high blood pressure compared to never napping.
- Experts say napping, though not unhealthy, could be a sign of poor sleep quality.
- A higher percentage of frequent nappers were men, had lower education and income levels, and reported daily drinking, cigarette smoking, insomnia, snoring, and being an evening person compared to people who reported napping sometimes or never.
- The Mendelian randomization result shows that if napping frequency increased by one category (from never to sometimes or sometimes to usually) high blood pressure risk increased by 40%.
According to new research published on July 25, 2022, in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal, napping on a regular basis is associated with higher risks for high blood pressure and stroke.
For the research, scientists in China investigated whether frequent naps could be a potential causal risk factor for high blood pressure and/or stroke. It is the first study to investigate whether frequent napping was associated with high blood pressure and ischemic stroke using both observational analyses of participants over a long period of time and Mendelian randomization – a genetic risk validation.
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