Daytime Nap Could Lower High Blood Pressure

Health researchers have again validated the importance of sleep as they found that a midday nap may not just boost an individual’s energy levels but could lower high blood pressure. Before now, daytime napping has been linked to boosting energy levels and productivity for the rest of the workday.

The scientists from Asklepieion General Hospital in Voula, Greece, in a new study, revealed that taking a nap at midday can effectively help people lower their blood pressure levels. Commenting on the findings, one of the study researchers, Dr. Manolis Kallistratos, said: “Midday sleep appears to lower blood pressure levels at the same magnitude as other lifestyle changes. For example, salt and alcohol reduction can bring blood pressure levels down by 3 to 5 [millimeters of mercury (mmHg)].”

The investigators worked with 212 participants who had a mean blood pressure of 129.9 mm Hg.

According to guidelines from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a person has high blood pressure if their readings of systolic blood pressure (pressure during a heartbeat) are 140 mm Hg or higher, and their readings of diastolic blood pressure (pressure between heartbeats) are 90 mm Hg or higher.

Kallistratos and his team in the study of participants who were over 62 years, after over 24 consecutive hours, found there no significant differences between how many blood pressure drugs participants in the two groups took.

The researchers found that people who took a daytime nap saw a 5.3 mm Hg drop in systolic blood pressure, which, the researchers explain, was about as much as someone could expect when taking blood pressure medication or making certain lifestyle changes to lower blood pressure.

The team added that each additional 60 minutes of napping time reduced average 24-hour systolic blood pressure by 3 mm Hg. Kallistratos further explained that taking low doses of specialised drugs can lower a person’s blood pressure levels by about 5–7 mm Hg on average.

He said: “These findings are important because a drop in blood pressure as small as 2 mm Hg can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack, by up to 10 per cent.” He maintained that based on the findings, if someone has the luxury to take a nap during the day, it may also have benefits for high blood pressure.