Is napping actually bad for you? Millions of people take naps every day, but studies have been showing that maybe we should avoid taking naps during the day. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, napping during the day can cause bad health. In this study, individuals who often take naps during the day are more likely to die at a younger age than those who do not take daily afternoon naps. Even the CDC says that our deficiency of sleep is a “public health crisis”. The New York Times reports, “In the last year or two, an obsessive fixation on getting sleep – not just any sleep, but good sleep – has crept into our public consciousness.”

The WNYC’s Clock Your Sleep is a program that is being used to observe different sleeping patterns over a population to comprehend our variety of sleeping patterns. We are told naps are good for you. However, a new study done by Cambridge University found that people who nap for an hour or longer a day are at a higher risk for dying at a younger age than those who avoid napping during the day. According to Medical Daily, taking a nap consisting of a couple hours can disrupt our sleep cycle, but taking shorter half-hour naps can actually provide us with an energy boost to keep us fueled for the rest of the day.  To further determine these theories, researchers conducted a study that took 16,000 British people that were of the ages 40 to 79. They did this study for a long period of time; 13 years. Three categories of people were created: people who napped for more than an hour a day, people who napped less than an hour a day, and people who did not even take naps at all. Other factors such as depression, gender, and certain illnesses were taken into consideration when figuring out the results. It was found that people who napped for more than an hour a day had a likelihood of 32% to die younger. Medical Daily recorded that the people who died due to this was because of various heart diseases, cancer, and other breathing illnesses. However, the researchers who conducted this study still aren’t certain if there is a direct connection between long napping and death.

According to Pat Hagan of Mail Online, people who nap are at a higher risk of acquiring a respiratory illness, acquiring swelling in different parts of the body, and can even be a possible cause of lung disease. A study done showed that people who took naps for an hour or more a day increased the likelihood of dying at a younger age by about a third. Hagan even reported the seriousness of long-term napping: “Adults who nap every day are up to two-and-a-half times more likely to die from respiratory illnesses than those who don’t.” The American Journal of Epidemiology even said that constantly napping during the day without realizing it can mean that you could possibly have lung disease. This study also found that the likelihood of death increased by roughly 14% who napped than less an hour a day (compared death rates with sleeping rates). But, if the naps were over an hour long,  the risk of death increased by 32%. Even more scary, a study completed in China found that people who napped more than 30 minutes consistently, were at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Jim Horne from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University reported that napping for a short period of time can be extremely beneficial. He said, “The findings actually show that the great majority – about 85 percent – of those people who napped less than an hour were at no greater risk.”  So, short story short, people should pay closer attention to how many naps they are taking and for how long. Try taking half-hour naps every day, and see if it changes the way you feel. Your health is the most important thing!

Sources:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/consistently-needing-take-long-mid-day-naps-might-be-indicative-underlying-health-problem-180951071/?no-ist

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2602913/Why-taking-afternoon-nap-raises-risk-EARLY-DEATH-third.html

http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/napping/page/0%2C3/