eccenter.org

In Mediterranean countries where it is common to take an afternoon siesta we know that coronary mortality rates are relatively low and so it begs the question of whether an afternoon nap might be an effective form of high blood pressure treatment. This in turn led to a study recently which looked at the effect on blood pressure of people who simply relaxed during the afternoon by lying down for a rest and those who actually took a nap during the afternoon and found that those who napped showed a significantly higher reduction in their blood pressure. So should we all start taking an afternoon nap? Unfortunately, this is not quite as simple a question as it might seem as, while it may well help to lower our blood pressure, it could also upset our body clock and simply replace the problem of high blood pressure with that of insomnia.