Snooze Your Way to Good Health

Who knew that afternoon siesta would help you live longer? Three 30-minute day-time naps a week decrease your risk of dying from a heart attack by 37%, according to a joint study by American and Greek researchers.

Regular naps lower your stress levels, which are associated with heart disease. Colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Athens Medical School tracked 23,681 originally healthy men and women in Greece for six years. Half the study group took regular midday naps. Heart diseased felled 133 of the 792 participants who died during the course of the study. Of those, two-thirds as many non-nappers as nappers died of heart disease.

While researchers aren't certain why nappers lived longer, numerous studies have linked heart problems with physical or emotional stress. Stress affects a person's blood pressure, heart rate, sugar and cholesterol levels. Napping allows the body to recover from stress. So, if you can take a midday nap, do your body a favor and do so. Sweet dreams!