<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Midday naps can be blissful after a full meal and nothing is quite as refreshing as a few minutes of shut-eye when the afternoon slumber takes over. One may get rid of the sluggishness, the irritability and the tiredness mostly due to sleep deficit of the past night and feel all refreshed and full of energy for the rest of the day.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, stretch this a little longer to little more than half-n-hour and the benefits may reverse, and one is at risk of feeling groggy all day. This is not it. Your unhealthy addiction to afternoon naps every day can make you susceptible to diseases like diabetes, heart issues, high blood pressure among others. Here's what experts told HT Digital.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Researchers believe that longer midday naps of more than 30 minutes may be related to a higher BMI, higher blood pressure, and diseases associated with heart disease and diabetes. However, those who took 'power naps' - 30-minute or less midday naps - were less likely to have high blood pressure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">DANGERS OF MID-DAY NAP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston analysed over 3,000 people from a Mediterranean community where midday naps known as 'siestas' are widespread in a new study published in the journal Obesity. The researchers investigated the link between siestas and their duration and obesity and metabolic syndrome," says Dr Aparna Govil Bhasker, Bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon, Saifee, Apollo Spectra, Namaha and Currae Hospitals, Mumbai.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"People who took siestas of 30 minutes or longer were found to have a higher BMI, higher blood pressure, and other conditions associated with heart disease and diabetes when compared to those who did not nap. It could also be the other way around as the people who did not get a proper sleep in the night due to factors like obesity, obstructive sleep apnoea, sleep disorders etc may tend to take longer naps during the day. More research is needed in this area. Furthermore, those who took short naps were less likely to have elevated systolic blood pressure than those who did not take siestas," adds Dr Aparna.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">People are more likely to benefit from afternoon naps if they are sleep deprived. However, sleeping for more than the required hours can do more harm than good. Besides, sleeping in daytime can affect the quality of night-time sleep which is more important.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Sleep is essential to maintain the functionality of the human body and to allow the various organ systems to work in perfect harmony and in an optimal state. An optimal night sleep duration for a healthy lifestyle in adults ranges from 7-8 hours. Sleeping less is associated with tiredness, fatigue and lack of motivation and zeal. Many people tend to compensate for a lack of sleep at night by taking naps in the midday or afternoon," says Dr Sanjay Verma, Director - Minimal Access, Bariatric and GI Surgery, Fortis Escorts, Okhla Road, New Delhi. HT</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>