Regular 'power naps' might be ruining your health – Study

The study, which was published this month by the American Heart Association Journal, shows that regular naps should alert you that your night's sleep is being affected. Even though naps are harmless, they are usually taken due to a poor night's sleep but they do not make up for it.

Among the participants, 12% of regular nappers were likely to develop high blood pressure over time, and 24% were more likely to have a stroke. The numbers were even less promising for young people below 60, who did not nap regularly but often enough, they were found to have a 20% chance of developing hypertension.

The results remained unchanged even when people with underlying conditions like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, existing hypertension, sleep disorders and those who worked night shifts.

What constitutes a nap

A refreshing nap or power nap is typically 15 minutes to 20 minutes long, taken usually around noon to 2 pm if you are sleep deprived. If you're sleeping for an hour or more, then you are more likely to be struggling with a sleep disorder.

Moreover, if you are experiencing insomnia or have chronic insomnia, you are discouraged from daytime napping, in order to starve off stress and regulate weight hormones which lead to obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and other heart problems.

How to reduce the frequency of daytime napping

If you are not having the healthy power naps, you can instead indulge in other healthy habits that will compound to improve your night sleep and reduce daytime fatigue, according to Michael Grandner, a psychologist at the Behavioural Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner-University Medical Centre in Tucson, Arizona.

The healthy habits are:

- Have a healthy snack on you, this means nuts, yoghurt or peanut butter.

- Periodically change your tasks or routines to wave off mental exhaustion that results from monotonous activity.

- Interact more with your physical environment by striking up a conversation, moving around, and stretching.

However, the effectiveness of these behaviours will dwindle if a proper sleep schedule is not restored.