Napping for Web Designers

As a self-employed web designer, I have a good amount of control over how my time is used. Occasionally, I will take a brief midday or afternoon nap. I find that it recharges me and helps me to think more clearly. In fact, when I worked for a large web development firm a few years ago, they had a room set aside for taking brief naps. That short rest is good for the creative process! Now, researchers are finding another good reason for taking an occasional nap.

A study of over 23,000 Greek men and women concluded that taking at least three daytime naps a week may reduce the risk of death from heart attack by 37 percent. “There is considerable evidence that both acute and chronic stress are related to heart disease,” explains Dimitrios Trichopoulos, a researcher and an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, U.S.A. “An afternoon siesta,” he says, “may act as a stress-releasing process [and] reduce coronary mortality.”

Now you can feel less guilty about taking that afternoon siesta. It's good for your heart!