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Signorelli et al¹ reemphasize the report of Bursztyn et al² that waking up from an afternoon nap taken at midday after lunch may be a significant risk factor for mortality in the elderly. Such an observation was already made by medieval physician and scholar Moses Maimonides (1138-1204), who writes that "one should not go to sleep shortly after eating but should wait approximately three or four hours after a meal. One should not sleep during the day."³

In addition, in his Treatise on Asthma, Maimonides deals with the effects of sleeping and waking on this disease.⁴ Sleeping immediately after a meal is said to be harmful, but sleeping after bathing is efficacious. It seems that Maimonides in the 12th century and the Salerno School's Regimen Sanitatis in the 13th century¹ articulated good medical advice on how to avoid certain health hazards, which we now recognize as bona fide risk . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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