Table of contents:
- The results showed the risk of taking too long a nap
- 1. Type 2 diabetes
- 2. Metabolic syndrome
- 3. Heart disease
- Further research needs to be done
- So, what is the best nap time?
Getting enough sleep is one of the keys to health. However, recent research has suggested that taking too long a nap may not have a good effect on your health. This Japanese study shows that taking too long naps or feeling very sleepy during the day may be associated with an increased risk of various health problems such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes which includes metabolic syndrome conditions including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar levels, and excess fat around the waist.
The results showed the risk of taking too long a nap
Researchers from the University of Tokyo conducted experiments involving 307,237 people. The researchers analyzed 21 studies involving people from the western and eastern hemispheres. The participants of this experiment had to answer questions such as:
- "Do you often feel sleepy during the day?"
- "Do you take frequent naps?"
The investigators compared the responses of the participants with a history of the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and obesity of the participants. As a result, there are three main risks of taking too long a nap, namely:
1. Type 2 diabetes
The results of the study show that taking too long naps or feeling sleepy during the day is associated with type 2 diabetes.Napping more than 1 hour increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 46%, whereas if you always feel very tired during the day, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases by 56%. The results of this study were presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in 2015.
2. Metabolic syndrome
The results of the study, presented at the American College of Cardiology's 65th Annual Scientific Session, suggest that taking too long a nap is associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Naps of less than 40 minutes do not increase your risk of developing metabolic syndrome. However, the risk begins to increase if the person naps longer than 40 minutes. In fact, people who nap for 1.5-3 hours have an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome by up to 50%. Interestingly, the researchers saw that the risk of this metabolic syndrome decreased if the person's nap time was less than 30 minutes.
3. Heart disease
The researchers also showed that napping more than 1 hour increased the risk of developing heart disease by 82% and, increasing the risk of death by 27%.
Further research needs to be done
The researchers who joined this study said that further research is still needed to confirm the results of this study. The researchers suggest that future research should focus on finding out whether there are any benefits to the heart health of short naps. In addition, research is also needed to see how the mechanism between too long naps, daytime sleepiness, and metabolic syndrome can relate to one another.
It could also in the future, the researchers see if there is a risk of other diseases due to too long naps. Although this study was conducted based on data from 300,000 people, it does not represent the entire world population. This data also relies heavily on subjective self-assessments, not objective assessments in the laboratory with sleep tracker .
Naps are common in all parts of the world. Thus, finding an association between the length of naps and various diseases such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease may offer new strategies in the treatment of these diseases. Moreover, at this time the number of people suffering from metabolic diseases is increasing worldwide.
So, what is the best nap time?
Researchers say that sleep is one important component in a healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise. Naps for a short period of time do have a good effect on health. However, it is not yet known what mechanism makes naps beneficial.
The results from the study showed that people who took a nap for a maximum of 40 minutes did not show an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Furthermore, the risk is further decreased if the nap is no more than 30 minutes.
Although this theory does require further research, The National Sleep Foundation has already taken steps to address this finding. They recommend that the best nap period for improving your performance acuity is 20-30 minutes.
