Naps linked to high blood pressure, higher risk of stroke, in new study

BOSTON -- If you tend to regularly nod off to sleep during the day you could be at higher risk for high blood pressure. 

In a study published in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal, researchers looked at about 360,000 U.K. residents and found that those who regularly took naps during the day had a 12% higher risk of developing high blood pressure and a 24% higher risk of having a stroke compared to those who never nap.  

The risk of high blood pressure was even higher for people under 60.  

They said napping itself is not harmful but that many people who take regular naps may do so because they don't sleep well at night, and poor sleep has been associated with poorer health. 

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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