How a nap can shorten your life

IT seems a pretty harmless occupation, but taking an afternoon nap can knock years off your life, say researchers.

Adults who sleep for an hour or more in the day increased the chances of premature death by almost a third, scientists found.

The biggest risks appear to be associated with lung diseases, such as bronchitis, emphysema and pneumonia.

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.

Researchers said that this could be because napping triggers inflammation in the body.

However, the findings also suggested that dozing during the day could be a signal that the person already has lung disease.

Experts at Cambridge tracked more than 16,000 British men and women over 13 years.

They studied adults who signed up to a major research project investigating the effects of diet and lifestyle on cancer.

Volunteers gave details of their sleeping habits – i ncluding whether they took a nap.

Researchers then followed them up for 13 years and recorded the number of deaths – just over 3,000 – and what caused them.

When they matched mortality rates with sleeping habits, they found the risk of death increased slightly by about 14 per cent in people who dozed less than an hour in the day.

But if their naps lasted more than an hour, the risks increased by 32 per cent.

But the report added: ‘ It remains plausible that napping might be an early sign of system disregulation and a marker of future health problems.’