Regular Napping Is Linked to Higher Blood Pressure

American adults love napping. In fact, 80.7 percent of U.S. adults reported napping at least 10 minutes in the past three months, according to a survey conducted by the Sleep Foundation. Results from the same survey also showed that 30.5 percent of Americans nap more than twice a week.  

While naps help ease tiredness; promote relaxation; improve mood, reaction time, alertness and performance, napping on a regular basis may be problematic. Napping has been linked to high blood pressure, according to a study recently published in the journal Hypertension. High blood pressure, defined as consistent readings of 130/80 mm Hg and higher, affects nearly 50 percent of Americans and raises the risk for heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke and congestive heart failure.  

For the study, Chinese researchers reviewed records from a cohort of almost 360,000 UK Biobank participants ages 40 to 69 living in the UK between 2006 and 2010 without a history of high blood pressure or stroke. The cohort was followed on average 11 years and participants submitted blood work and urine samples on a regular basis as well as reported their health and lifestyle habits, including napping frequency.  

Researchers divided participants into three groups based on self-reported napping regularity – usually, sometimes or rarely/never and analyzed data. They found those who:

• “Napped sometimes” had a 7 percent higher risk for high blood pressure, a 12 percent higher risk for stroke and a 9 percent higher risk for ischemic stroke, when compared to those who rarely or never napped.
• “Napped usually” had a 12 percent higher risk of high blood pressure, a 24 percent higher risk of stroke and ischemic stroke by 20 percent, when compared to those who rarely or never napped.

Increased their napping frequency, for example, going from rarely/never to sometimes resulted in a 40 percent higher risk of high blood pressure.  

Participants in the “usually napping” group reported other risk factors for high blood pressure such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol daily, snoring and struggling with insomnia. These risk factors also affect sleep, suggesting that naps don’t cause high blood pressure, but instead a symptom of poor sleep habits, which are notorious for increasing blood pressure.  

Getting Enough Sleep

It’s important to get between seven and nine hours of quality sleep. However, there are many reasons why you may not be getting enough sleep. If you’re consistently averaging less than seven hours a night, talk to your primary care physician.  

MDVIP includes a sleep screener in the MDVIP Wellness Program. This enables affiliated physicians to proactively work with patients to get to the root cause of disordered sleep.  

Some sleep solutions are easier than others. For example, your doctor may ask you to adopt better sleep hygiene, exercise more, change your workout times, reduce your caffeine, drink caffeinated beverages earlier in the day, try holistic approaches or add chamomile tea or meditation to your evening routine.  

Issues like stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain and substance use are more complex. Your doctor may suggest some lifestyle changes, prescribe medication or refer you to a specialist or cessation program.  

Your doctor also may order a sleep study to track brain waves, eye movements, muscle tone and breathing patterns while you sleep. Results can help rule out conditions like sleep apnea and narcolepsy.

If you don’t have a primary care physician, consider joining an MDVIP-affiliated practice. MDVIP-affiliated physicians have more time to help you in your pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. Find a physician near you and begin your partnership in health »