People around the world encourage daytime naps or short naps while working or doing daily chores, while new research shows the opposite and can affect health as napping can affect different people differently.
In the study, published in JAMA Network Researchers found that morning naps and longer and more frequent naps were associated with higher all-cause mortality rates in adults with an average age of 81 years.
The study, led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and Rush University Medical Center, used data from more than 1,300 adults aged 56 or older over a period of about 19 years.
“Although short naps can immediately relieve fatigue and improve alertness,” the authors write, “excessive napping later in life has been associated with adverse health consequences, including neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and even greater morbidity.”
The findings suggest that there is “tremendous clinical value in tracking sleep patterns to detect health problems early,” the authors added, but noted that this is a correlation and not a causation.
While previous findings relied on self-reported napping habits and ignored metrics such as when and how regular those naps were, the latest study is among the first to show a link between objectively measured napping patterns — via wearable devices — and mortality, the authors said.
“Excessive napping likely indicates an underlying illness, chronic conditions, sleep disorders, or circadian dysregulation,” said lead author Chenlu Gao, a researcher in the Mass General Brigham Division of Anesthesiology.
“Now that we know there is a strong correlation between napping patterns and mortality rates, we can advocate for implementing wearable daytime naps to predict health status and prevent further decline.”
After studying the data collected by wearable devices worn by the study participants, researchers found that those who took long and frequent naps faced higher mortality rates.
The study found that morning naps, compared to afternoon naps, may have “more underlying health problems.”
Additionally, people who nap during the day may be at higher risk of mortality due to systemic inflammation, which is often associated with several chronic conditions.
