Scientists from Karolinska Institute found that napping, as well as sleeping too much or too little or having poor sleep patterns, appears to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease in older people.
The research is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and was conducted by Weili Xu et al.
The American Heart Association recently added sleep duration to its checklist of health and lifestyle factors for cardiovascular health, known as Life’s Essential 8.
It says adults should average seven to nine hours of sleep a night.
Prior research has shown poor sleep may put people at higher risk for a range of chronic illnesses and conditions affecting heart and brain health.
These include cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
Previous sleep duration studies show that sleeping too much or too little may raise the risk for cardiovascular disease. But whether napping is good or bad has been unclear.
In the study, the team analyzed the sleep patterns for 12,268 adults in the Swedish Twin Registry.
Participants were an average of 70 years old at the start of the study, with no history of major heart disease events.
Participants were followed for up to 18 years to track whether they developed any major cardiovascular problems, including heart disease and stroke.
The team found that people who reported sleeping between seven and nine hours each night were least likely to develop heart disease.
Compared with that group, those who reported less than seven hours were 14% more likely to develop heart disease, and those who reported more than 10 hours were 10% more likely to develop heart disease.
Compared with people who said they never napped, those who reported napping up to 30 minutes were 11% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
The risk increased by 23% if naps lasted longer than 30 minutes.
Overall, those who reported poor sleep patterns or other sleep issues – including insomnia, heavy snoring, getting too much or too little sleep, frequent daytime sleepiness and considering themselves a night person – had a 22% higher risk.
Study participants who reported less than seven hours of sleep at night and napping more than 30 minutes each day had the highest risk for cardiovascular disease – 47% higher than those reporting the optimal amount of sleep and no naps.
The team suggests that rather than trying to recoup sleep time by napping, people should try to develop healthier sleep habits that allow them to get an optimal amount of sleep at night.
This includes making sure the sleep environment is not too hot or cold or too noisy.
Reducing exposure to bright light before going to sleep, not eating too late at night, getting enough exercise during the day, and eating a healthful diet also help.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about food that may harm your heart rhythm, and this antioxidant drug may protect against stroke and heart attack.
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