Take a Nap

The Archives of Internal Medicine recently published results from a Harvard School of Public Health and University of Athens Medical School joint study regarding the potential benefits of napping.

Researchers followed 23,000 Greek adults over six years and measured their diet, physical activity, and whether they napped (a) never (b) occasionally - defined as 1-2x/week for less than 30 minutes (usually on weekends), OR (c) frequently - defined as 3 or more times per week for 30 minutes or more.

The results showed that occasional napping decreased a person's risk for coronary heart disease by 12 percent. More impressive, the findings also demonstrated that frequent napping decreased the risk by a remarkable 37 percent.

Reducing heart failure is another benefit that can be added to the nap list, others include: enhancing our visual, motor and spatial skills, keeping our metabolism in check, and decreasing our stress/inflammatory responses.

Unfortunately, instead of considering a siesta, most Americans head for the nearest Starbucks, Peets, Caribou, or Seattle's Best, in search of a caffeine fix when experiencing the afternoon coma. But studies also have shown that caffeine deteriorates performance--in contrast to the positive nap findings explained above.

So what's the moral of this story? 30 minutes of nap time a few days each week may cure the dark circles under your eyes...it may also save your life.