Power naps could increase early death risk by 33%

Melbourne:  A new study has revealed that regular power napping could increase the likelihood of an early death by a third.

The study has found that napping can cause inflammation in the body which may trigger various lung diseases and people who sleep for an hour or more are two-and-a-half times more likely to die from respiratory illnesses such as emphysema, pneumonia and bronchitis, than those who only sleep at night, News.com.au reported.

The researchers at Cambridge University found that people who dozed for less than an hour in the day increased the chance of death by around 14 per cent and the likelihood rose to 32 per cent if the nap lasted for more than an hour.

The study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.