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For older adults, napping may be a warning sign of underlying health conditions or deteriorating health conditions, according to a new study.
In the study, published April 20 in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that morning naps and longer and more frequent naps were associated with increased all-cause mortality among adults with an average age of 81 years.
The study, led by researchers at Massachusetts General Brigham and Rush University Medical Center, used data from more than 1,300 adults ages 56 and older over a period of about 19 years.
The authors write, “While short naps have an immediate effect on reducing fatigue and increasing alertness, excessive napping in later life is associated with negative health outcomes, including neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, and even increased morbidity.”
The authors say that while previous findings relied on self-reported napping habits and omitted indicators such as napping duration and frequency, the latest study is one of the first to show an association between napping patterns objectively measured via wearable devices and mortality rates.
The findings suggest that “tracking napping patterns for early detection of health conditions has immense clinical value,” the authors added, but noted that this is a correlation, not causation.
“Excessive napping is likely indicative of an underlying medical condition, chronic disease, sleep disorder, or circadian dysregulation,” said lead author Chenlu Gao, a researcher in the Department of Anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Brigham University. “Having found a strong correlation between napping patterns and mortality, we can make the case for implementing wearable nap assessments to predict health status and prevent further decline.”
