The scientists first categorized all participants into three nap groups: regular, occasional, or non-nappers. Factoring in age, physical activity, smoking status, education, diet, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio, they came to some startling conclusions.
Occasionally catching some shut-eye during the day was associated with a 12% reduction in cardiac mortality. Routine napping, however, reduced that risk even further, at 37%. This risk reduction was more apparent in the men over the women, as the occasional male napper was 64% less likely to die from a coronary disease compared to the non-nappers category.