Long daytime naps tied to increased AF risk

Power naps (<30 minutes) offer time to recharge but going beyond the 30-minute mark may not be heart-friendly, according to a study that found a link between long daytime naps and risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF).

 

“Our study indicates that snoozes during the day should be limited to <30 minutes,” said study author Dr Jesus Diaz-Gutierrez from Juan Ramon Jimenez University Hospital, Huelva, Spain, in a press release. “People with disturbed night-time sleep should avoid relying on napping to make up for the shortfall.”

 

Diaz-Gutierrez and his team used data from a prospective cohort of Spanish university graduates (the University of Navarra Follow-Up Project). A total of 20,348 participants who did not have AF at baseline completed a questionnaire every 2 years. The average age of participants was 38 years. About two-thirds (61 percent) were female. [Eur J Prev Cardiol 2023;30:i216-i217]

 

During a median follow-up of 13.8 years (91-percent retention rate), 131 participants developed AF.

 

Compared with participants who had short daytime naps (<30 minutes daily), individuals who went beyond 30 minutes daily had a nearly doubled relative risk of incident AF (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.90, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.26–2.86). This risk was not observed in participants who did not have naps (aHR, 1.26, 95 percent CI, 0.82–1.93).

 

After excluding participants who did not nap, those who had shorter daytime naps had a lower risk of developing AF, with the greatest risk reduction seen among those who snoozed between 15 and 30 minutes daily (aHR, 0.44, 95 percent CI, 0.27–0.72; p_trend=0.001) as opposed to those who snoozed >30 minutes/day. For those who napped <15 minutes daily, the adjusted HR was 0.58 after adjusting for multiple* covariates (p_trend=0.001).

 

“[Evidence has shown] that sleep patterns may play a role in the development of AF, but as far as we know, this was the first study to analyse the relationship between daytime napping and risk of arrhythmia,” said Diaz-Gutierrez.

 

“The findings suggest a potential novel healthy lifestyle habit in the primary prevention of AF … The results suggest that the optimal napping duration is 15–30 minutes,” he continued.

 

“[L]ong daytime naps may disrupt the body’s internal clock (circadian rhythm), leading to shorter night-time sleep, more nocturnal awakening, and reduced physical activity. In contrast, short daytime napping may improve circadian rhythm, lower blood pressure levels, and reduce stress,” he continued.

 

Nonetheless, it has yet to be established whether shorter naps are better than none, hence the need for larger trials to substantiate the findings.