Certain Nap Habits Might Be Cutting Your Life Short, New Study Finds Does that mean you should give up naps? Experts weigh in
A new study found that certain daytime napping behaviors are linked to a higher risk of death
Westend61 / Getty Images
- New research linked long, late, and irregular naps to a higher risk of death in older adults.
- Certain napping behaviors may reflect underlying health issues or poor sleep quality.
- If you need a snooze, experts recommend short naps earlier in the day, but check with a doctor if daytime sleepiness persists.
When and how you nap during the day may affect your risk of death, according to a new study abstract published in the journal Sleep.
Using data from wearable activity trackers, researchers found that nap length and timing were linked to increased mortality among older adults.
The study hasn't yet been peer reviewed. But it’s use of an objective measurement of napping patterns distinguishes it from previous research, according to experts, and brings scientists closer to understanding whether certain nap habits should warrant an evaluation of a person’s health.
“Our study fills a gap in knowledge by showing that not just whether someone naps, but how long, how variable, and when they nap during the day may be meaningful indicators of future health risk,” lead study author Chenlu Gao, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told Health. “Past studies have relied on self-reported nap habits, which are subject to recall bias.”
What’s In a Nap?
According to Gao, many studies have focused on the connection between nighttime sleep and mortality. But she and her colleagues have “long been interested in understanding daytime napping and its implications for health.”
“We saw a critical need to investigate whether objectively assessed napping behaviors are associated with longevity,” she added.
To do so, the team pulled data from 86,565 non-shift working adults included in the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database. Participants were between ages 43 to 79, with an average age of 63, and 57% were women.
They wore a wearable device that tracked their rest-activity patterns for seven days, with napping described as sleep occurring between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. During the 11-year follow-up period, 5,819 of the participants died.
Researchers found a link between a higher risk of death and three factors:
- Longer naps
- More day-to-day changes in nap length
- More naps around both noon and early afternoon
The associations held after adjusting for factors like body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and overnight sleep amount.
Do Certain Napping Patterns Increase the Risk of Death?
While the study shows a connection between various napping patterns and mortality, it’s important to remember that it did not find that napping causes a higher risk of death.
The study also hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed and has some limitations in its design. Gao said participants didn’t record sleep diaries, meaning their tracker may have misclassified inactive periods as naps and vice versa.
It’s also unclear whether the findings would apply to a general population.
Still, experts said the study offers valuable takeaways. It adds more—and stronger—evidence that certain napping habits are connected to mortality, said Michelle Drerup, PsyD, the director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Cleveland Clinic, who is unaffiliated with this study. Previous studies have had mixed results, but unlike the new research, they relied on self-reported napping behaviors.
While some research has found an association between mortality and longer naps, the new research revealed a new connection between death risk and when naps occurred during the day, Neal Walia, MD, a sleep specialist at UCLA Health unaffiliated with this research, told Health.
“Those who are napping longer or more often in the middle of the day may benefit from a further evaluation on whether another underlying condition is causing that patient to be tired and leading to that pattern of napping,” Walia said.
Why Would Napping Be Connected to Mortality?
So far, no conclusive evidence shows that naps themselves lead directly to an increase in mortality, according to Walia.
“It’s likely more about why people are napping,” he said. Sleep disorders that disrupt the quality of nighttime sleep, such as sleep apnea, or energy-draining medical conditions like heart disease, could be the true culprit behind the nap-mortality connection.
“Though this study attempted to adjust for comorbidities,” Walia added, “it’s difficult to account for undiagnosed medical conditions.”
However, Drerup said it is possible that long, irregular, and midday naps could influence health by disrupting circadian rhythms, the body’s internal clock. Disturbing the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle could impact various factors affecting mortality, such as inflammation, metabolism, and cardiovascular health.
So, Should You Avoid Napping?
There’s no reason to stymy your daytime snooze altogether, especially if you’re a sleep-deprived shift worker; researchers still don’t fully understand the connection between napping patterns and mortality.
But longevity aside, most people may want to avoid certain napping habits, experts advised.
Naps that are less than 30 minutes are ideal, Drerup told Health, because they allow you to feel refreshed without the grogginess that can happen if you enter deep sleep. Napping earlier in the day could also prevent your daytime sleep from interfering with your ability to drift off at night, Walia added.
If you’re napping for more extended periods or requiring regular naps throughout the day, Walia recommended checking in with your doctor, who may want to monitor you for underlying health problems or suggest an evaluation for a sleep-related disorder. Consulting a doctor is a good idea if you’re also feeling fatigued despite taking regular naps, Drerup added.
How to Stop Napping
If you want to avoid napping, however, experts recommended trying to sleep better at night. To that end, Drerup suggests:
- Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule
- Spending time outdoors in natural sunlight, especially in the morning
- Engaging in regular physical activity
- Limiting caffeine and alcohol intake
- Having a relaxing bedtime routine
- Eating regular meals and healthy snacks throughout the day
- Practicing relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or meditation, to reduce stress
Jani Hall
Jani Hall is a news editor for Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation.
learn more
Read more:
This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Brian Mastroianni
