Love frequent naps? It might be pushing you to hypertension and strokes

If you love your afternoon nap (or a nap at any time of the day), you need to read this. Frequent naps might be the cause of high blood pressure and more frequent strokes. According to a study done by the American Heart Association journal, participants who napped during the day were 12% more likely to develop high blood pressure and 24% more likely to have a stroke, as compared with people who never napped during the day (good luck finding those).

"This may be because, although taking a nap itself is not harmful, many people who take naps may do so because of poor sleep at night. Poor sleep at night is associated with poorer health, and naps are not enough to make up for that," said clinical psychologist Michael Grandner in a press statement.  

The risk of developing high blood pressure increased by 20% for people under the age of 60 who napped most days, as compared to those who never or very infrequently napped during the day.

The study also stands after excluding records of people who had already suffered from stroke or hypertension from the sample batch.  

Who were studied? The analysis was done on 3,58,451 participants free of hypertension or stroke and they reported their napping habits to the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database, and research resource containing in-depth genetic and health information. The respondents were observed over a period of four years and samples were collected. 

BUT... The study has various limitations which should be looked into before we say no to our power nap forever: 

• There is a correlation between regular naps and smoking, drinking and insomnia. In simple words, there is a greater chance of strokes and hypertension if you are already into those habits and nap regularly. 
• The study does not take into account the duration of the nap. According to some experts, a 20-30-minute power nap is perfectly normal to refresh oneself and may not have such side-effects. 
• A previous study, however, suggests that the most energising nap lasts no more than 30 minutes during the middle of the afternoon.

Netizens react: As soon as the results of the study made their way to social media, Twitter went crazy. And of course, had some funny responses. Check out some of them: 

Like all other such studies, you know you need to take them with a pinch of salt and a side of that afternoon nap.