Taking time out in the middle of the work day for a snooze might be one of the best defences against heart disease, according to a new study.

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CHICAGO: A regular afternoon nap might be one of the best defences against heart disease, according to a new study.

In a long-term study of Greek men and women, subjects who took at least three 30-minute siestas every week had a 37 per cent lower risk of heart disease-related death than those who skipped an afternoon snooze. The authors of the study, reporting in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, believe the stress-reducing effects of sleep may be responsible.

Among working men, the benefits of the power nap were even more striking; the men who made time for a daily nap, either occasionally or systematically, had a more than 60 per cent lower risk of death from heart disease than their more hard-charging compatriots. The researchers were unable to assess the impact of the siesta on working women because of insufficient data, according to the study.

"We interpret our findings as indicating that among healthy adults, siesta, possibly on account of stress-releasing consequences, may reduce coronary mortality," said the authors.

The results stem from a six-year study of more than 23,000 Greek men and women between the ages of 20 and 86. Volunteers were enrolled in 1994 and followed for more than six years. At the end of that period, 792 participants had died, 133 of them from heart disease.

Researchers from the University of Athens Medical School in Greece and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, hope that the results of the study will settle a question that has vexed investigators for some time: namely, whether the lower rates of coronary heart-disease seen in Mediterranean and Latin American countries are related to the natives' habit of taking an afternoon siesta.

Several studies have explored the connection, but the results have been conflicting. With this study, the researchers were careful to enroll only healthy volunteers and to take account of other risk factors, such as diet and physical activity, providing for a more robust analysis.

In Spain and Mexico, the cultural institution of the daily siesta has come under attack in recent years, with critics arguing that the midday work stoppage puts businesses at a competitive disadvantage in today's global economy.

But the authors of the study suggest that what may be bad for the bottom line may be extremely good for the health of employees. "The public health message is clear - if you can take a midday nap, do so," said co-author Dimitrios Trichopoulos, of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, with the highest rates of the disease seen in developing countries, according to the World Health Organisation.