There’s One Thing You Should Know Before Work Tomorrow

Tell your boss. This could change everything.

Rebecca McKnight

There’s One Thing You Should Know Before Work Tomorrow

Around this time every week, The Fear kicks in. Another week of work is on the horizon and the next break seems very, very far away.

The hardest part of any Monday, really, is breaking up with your bed in the morning before a loving reunion that night.

All may not be lost, however, as science suggests you and your sleep really shouldn’t be parted for all that long.

In news you might be delighted to pass on to your boss, researchers suggest that the Spaniards have had the right idea all along and we should ALL be enjoying a daily siesta.

Research presented to the European Society of Cardiology annual conference in London by Dr Manolis Kallistratos, a cardiologist at Asklepieion Voula General Hospital in Athens, Greece, showed that a midday nap is “associated with reduced blood pressure” and could even reduce the risk of a heart attack.

“Although William Blake affirms that it is better to think in the morning, act at noon, eat in the evening and sleep at night, noon sleep seems to have beneficial effects,” said Dr Kallistratos. “Two influential UK Prime Ministers were supporters of the midday nap. Winston Churchill said that we must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner while Margaret Thatcher didn’t want to be disturbed at around 3:00 pm. According to our study they were right because midday naps seem to lower blood pressure levels and may probably also decrease the number of required antihypertensive medications.”

He added: “Μidday sleep is a habit that nowadays is almost a privileged due to a nine to five working culture and intense daily routine. However the real question regarding this habit is: is it only a custom or is it also beneficial?”

The researchers found that in midday sleepers pulse wave velocity levels were 11% lower and left atrium diameter was 5% smaller. “These findings suggest that midday sleepers have less damage from high blood pressure in their arteries and heart,” said Dr Kallistratos.

The duration of midday sleep was associated with the burden of arterial hypertension. Patients who slept for 60 minutes midday had 4 mmHg lower average 24 hour systolic BP readings and a 2% higher dipping status5 compared to patients who did not sleep midday. Dippers had an average of 17 minutes more midday sleep than non-dippers.

Dr Kallistratos said: “Our study shows that not only is midday sleep associated with lower blood pressure, but longer sleeps are even more beneficial. Midday sleepers had greater dips in blood pressure while sleeping at night which is associated with better health outcomes. We also found that hypertensive patients who slept at noon were under fewer antihypertensive medications compared to those who didn’t sleep midday.”

He concluded: “We found that midday sleep is associated with lower 24 hour blood pressure, an enhanced fall of BP in night, and less damage to the arteries and the heart. The longer the midday sleep, the lower the systolic BP levels and probably fewer drugs needed to lower BP.”