Daytime naps linked to risk for stroke

Chris recent shared a regular nap can be a healthy habit. I had a great aunt who napped fifteen minutes twice a day on work breaks, worked her cardio for hours a day while pushing pedals at a printing press job and smoked for 75 years. I always wondered if it was the regular cardio and naps that kept her so lithe and sharp until her last day on earth at the ripe old age of 94. But according to a new study, *napping may be a sign of a looming health problem.

If you're an occasional napper or a heavy dozer you may be at higher risk for a stroke. Researchers asked 2,100 retirees, average age 73, to self-report how often they nodded off across various times of the day -- watching the boob tube, reading, chatting, stuck in traffic or sitting quietly after lunch. Over the next two years, 40 had strokes and 127 experienced other blood vessel problems (e.g. heart attacks or blood clots in the lungs).

Turns out heavy dozers had nearly five times greater the odds of having a stroke and occasional dozers had about three times greater the risk compared to those who rarely fell asleep. Researchers suggest frequent dozers be evaluated for a sleep disorder, which is treatable.

Other studies have recently examined two other predictors of stroke including artery buildup in women discovered via mammogram and non-diabetics beginning to experience insulin resistance Check out this article for more information on studies examining these three predictors of stroke -- naps, mammograms and blood-sugar tests.

*Important to note, this study examined unintentional dozing, not a purposeful nap.