Do you find yourself taking a nap in the middle of the day? That irresistible pull towards the pillow in the middle of the afternoon. While an occasional afternoon rest may seem harmless, a new study suggests that a 20-minute snooze, or longer, could be your body’s way of waving a red flag, especially as we age.A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham and Rush University Medical Center found that frequent daytime sleepiness in older adults could be more than just a sign of a busy night. Excessive napping in older adults may be a warning sign of underlying health concerns that are worth paying attention to. The study’s findings are published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Excessive napping is almost a health report
The researchers from Mass General Brigham and Rush University Medical Center followed 1,338 older adults for up to 19 years, tracking their napping habits and associated mortality rates.
They found that longer, more frequent, and morning naps were associated with higher mortality rates.“Excessive napping later in life has been linked to neurodegeneration, cardiovascular diseases and even greater morbidity, but many of those findings rely on self-reported napping habits and leave out metrics like when and how regular those naps are. Our study is one of the first to show an association between objectively measured nap patterns and mortality, and suggests there is immense clinical value in tracking napping patterns to catch health conditions early,” lead author Chenlu Gao, PhD, an investigator in the Department of Anesthesiology at Mass General Brigham, who is also an affiliated research fellow in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders in the Department of Medicine, said in a release.
Napping patterns and health
The researchers observed that between 20 and 60% of older adults take naps. Though occasional napping can be restorative, increased frequency in old age is linked to a wide range of health issues. They also noted that, despite these associations, the link between napping and health in older individuals is not well explored. Also, previous investigations lacked objective napping pattern data, the time of day naps took place, and changes in napping patterns from day to day.To bridge this gap, the Mass General Brigham researchers turned to data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, which began in 1997 as a cohort study. It primarily centred on the cognition and neurodegeneration of older, mainly white individuals in northern Illinois. Starting in 2005, participants were asked to wear a wrist activity monitor for 10 days to measure rest–activity data. Based on this, the researchers analysed sleep patterns from the extensive rest–activity data and mapped nap length, frequency, time of day, and day-to-day variability.By 2025, they had collected 19 years’ worth of data from the 1,338 participants. The researchers analysed how napping patterns linked to all-cause mortality during the 19-year follow-up period. They found that longer, more frequent, and morning naps were all associated with higher mortality.In fact, each additional hour of daytime napping per day was associated with around 13% higher mortality risk. Also, each extra nap per day was associated with around 7% higher mortality risk.
There was a 30% higher mortality risk among morning nappers compared to afternoon nappers. However, irregular napping patterns were not associated with any increased mortality risk.“It is important to note that this is correlation, not causation. Excessive napping is likely indicating underlying disease, chronic conditions, sleep disturbances, or circadian dysregulation. Now that we know there is a strong correlation between napping patterns and mortality rates, we can make the case to implement wearable daytime nap assessments to predict health conditions and prevent further decline,” Gao explained.That morning nap might feel innocent enough; however, if it is frequent and getting longer, it could be your body telling you something important.Disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet or health routine.
