Take nap at work - Say Health Experts

New research suggests that a midday nap might be good for the heart -- especially if you can take one at work.

In the largest study to date on the health effects of napping, researchers tracked 23,681 healthy Greek adults for an average of about six years. Those who napped at least three times weekly for about half an hour had a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart attacks or other heart problems than those who did not nap.

People who took any naps at all during the day had a 34 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease than non-nappers.

Most of the people studied were in their 50s, though they ranged in age from 20 to 86. The strongest evidence was in working men, according to the study, which appeared Monday in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Among working men, those who took midday naps occasionally or regularly had a 64 percent lower risk of death from heart disease than those who did not nap, while non-working men who napped had a 36 percent reduction in risk.

Dr. Dimitrios Trichopoulos, a professor of cancer prevention and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, led the study with a colleague from the University of Athens Medical School in Greece.

''My advice is if you can take a nap, yes, do take a nap," Trichopoulos said. "If you have a sofa in your office, if you can relax, do it."

Scripps Howard News Service, AP