Catnap for a happy heart

Just take a nap twice a week, study finds

Curling up for a nap has to be one of life’s greatest indulgences. Now, thanks to research, it needn’t be reserved for a lazy day

– it could actually be a way to boost your heart health. A study published in the British journal Heart found that napping once or twice a week could decrease the risk of cardiac events, such as a heart attack or stroke, by 48 per cent. The study, which recruited 3462 participants over five years, concluded that further research was needed to determine the optimal length of a catnap. For now, if you’re looking to have forty winks, studies suggest a kip of between 25-45 minutes will do wonders for muscle recovery, attention, fatigue and stress.