Posted on 04/14/2023 9:21:20 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Daytime naps longer than a half-hour appear to nearly double a person's risk of developing an irregular heartbeat, a study reports.
People who nap 30 minutes or more a day have a 90% higher risk of developing the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (a-fib) than those who take shorter naps, according to research presented.
"Our study indicates that snoozes during the day should be limited to less than 30 minutes," Dr. Jesus Diaz-Gutierrez said in a society news release. "People with disturbed night-time sleep should avoid relying on napping to make up the shortfall."
A-fib causes the heart's upper chambers to beat irregularly, increasing a person's risk of stroke fivefold, the researchers said.
For this study, the investigators tracked more than 20,000 Spanish university graduates.
During an average follow-up of nearly 14 years, 131 participants developed a-fib.
Those taking longer naps had nearly twice the risk of atrial fibrillation compared to those taking short naps, according to the first analysis. Meanwhile, folks who didn't nap did not have any elevated a-fib risk compared to short-nappers.
Looking more closely at short-nappers, the researchers found that those who napped for fewer than 15 minutes had a 42% lower risk of developing a-fib, while those who napped 15 to 30 minutes had a 56% reduced risk compared with long nappers.
"The results suggest that the optimal napping duration is 15 to 30 minutes," Diaz-Gutierrez said.
He said there are many potential explanations.
"For example, long daytime naps may disrupt the body's internal clock (circadian rhythm), leading to shorter night-time sleep, more nocturnal awakening and reduced physical activity," he said. "In contrast, short daytime napping may improve circadian rhythm, lower blood pressure levels and reduce stress."
While the study found an association between naps and a-fib risk, it could not prove cause and effect.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
You can’t get a REM cycle in 30 minutes, so that short of a nap is just going to make you more tired.
They can have my afternoon naps when they pry my cold dead butt off the den couch.
For me the optimal nap duration is 90 minutes, the natural REM cycle.
You can’t get REM in any normal “nap,” and you don’t need it to be rested during the day.
Your nights are for the real thing.
Actually, that is the average time it takes to just start REM sleep:
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-101
“You can’t get REM in any normal “nap,””
Speak for yourself. If I nap for at least 1 hr 20 minutes, I can get a REM cycle in.
“you don’t need it to be rested during the day”
No, not normally, but if I do take a nap, I’m going to take one that doesn’t leave me feeling more tired than before I took it.
“the average time”
Did you perhaps forget that “average” doesn’t mean “minimum”?
Seems more likely that those who need to nap 90 minutes are having sleep apnea or other sleep issues.
A 100 minute nap merely gets you ten minutes of REM sleep:
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-101
100 minutes is not a normal “nap.” That’s better described as “sleep.”
I would agree, and it appears to be the sort of problem this study is noting.
Rarely nap, but, when I do….it’s a 20 minute power nap.
Actually, it varies by individual and circumstances such as perceived stress prior to nap. When I was a PhD candidate in neuropsychology, 90 minutes was stated as baseline for REM cycle based on EEG.
Boy am I glad I can’t nap. 🙂
Does getting drunk and falling to sleep count?
A whole lot of Mexicans took longer Siestas, and there are still a whole lot of Mexicans.
I consider a 90 minute nap to be six 15 minute naps in quick succession.
Maybe those with a-fib are more tired and are more likely to nap?
When I retired in 2003, I got in the habit of taking a short nap on the couch in the afternoon. I stopped doing it, because I always felt more tired when I got up. I can’t remember the last time I ever took a nap. When I was working, I was on the 3-11 p.m. shift and very rarely, the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. From the day I retired, I couldn’t bring myself to go to bed early, and even now, all these years later, I stay up to at least 4 a.m., and sleep for 7 or 8 hours. Breakfast is brunch for me.
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