According to this study, people who take short naps during the day cut their risk of dying of heart problems by at least a third.
The study was carried out by University of Athens researchers on 23,000 men and women aged between 20 and 86 and recruited in the period 1994 to 1999. Researchers found that people who had a short sleep at midday had a 34% lower chance of dying from heart disease than those who stayed awake all day.
The reasons given were pretty obvious - sleeping reduces stress which in turn reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. But what was startling about the research was the effect of a midday nap on ‘working’ men. Regular midday sleepers in this group had a 64% lower risk of death from heart disease!!
So which life insurer will be the first to reward midday nappers with lower life insurance premiums? Dream on…