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Daytime naps can trigger hypertension
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
A group of researchers in Minnesota said that daytime sleep can be dangerous to human health. For a long time, scientists have been talking about the benefits and necessity of daytime rest, and a number of studies have confirmed this: daytime sleep improves brain function, memory, increases attentiveness and the ability to perceive new information, and normalizes metabolism. Experts agreed that daytime sleep is especially useful for people whose work is associated with increased mental stress.
But the latest research from Minnesota, USA, has shown the opposite and scientists are sure that sleeping in the afternoon is harmful to our body. According to scientists, daytime rest can contribute to increased blood pressure and hypertension can develop as a result.
The research was conducted at one of the world's largest private medical centers, the Mayo Clinic, and the scientists presented the results of their work at a conference on hypertension.
In their report, the experts noted that during the work, 9 research papers were collected and analyzed, in which more than 100 thousand people took part in total. As a result, the scientists found that those volunteers who slept during the day suffered from hypertension almost 20% more often, compared to those who did without daytime rest. The experts also noted that the connection between napping at night (in volunteers who worked in shifts) and the risk of developing hypertension was studied, however, no relationship was found.
Hypertension is a widespread disease that affects millions of people. The disease, especially if left untreated, can cause a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure. Today, scientists have a fairly wide range of drugs for high blood pressure, but according to statistics, every fifth hypertensive patient has a disease that is difficult to treat and does not show improvements while taking medications.
Scientists are constantly conducting various studies aimed at improving the quality of people's lives, but often some discoveries contradict others. For example, several months ago, British experts said that daytime sleep can help prolong life and reduce the risk of a heart attack. In the course of their work, scientists found that during daytime sleep, a person's blood pressure normalizes - 386 volunteers took part in the experiment, whose blood pressure indicators were studied, scientists were especially interested in participants with high blood pressure. As it turned out, after daytime sleep, 5% of participants from the group that slept during the daytime had normalized blood pressure and their overall well-being improved.
Scientists also confirmed earlier results of other studies that daytime sleep improves performance and concentration, and also relieves nervous tension and increases the level of endorphins in the body. The British are sure that it is best to sleep from 13-00 to 15-00.
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