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All human beings at some point inevitably succumb to the power of a good nap, I know I have. A well-timed nap can give you much-needed energy throughout the day but is there such a thing as too much napping? Recent studies have shown that excess napping in older adults may be a precursor to Parkinson’s disease, dementia, or Alzheimer’s.
UC San Francisco conducted a study on 3,000 men over the age of 65, measuring their sleep-wake patterns for five days. After monitoring the cognitive assessment of the men in the study for 11 years, results show that those who napped for more than one hour a day were more likely to develop Parkison’s. The men from the study who napped for two or more hours a day were 66% more likely to experience a cognitive decline as opposed to the men who only napped for 30 minutes or less. The men from the study who were excessively napping throughout the day also slept well through the night, therefore the connection between disrupted night-sleep and excessive napping is uncertain.
The majority of studies done on napping and its effect on cognitive decline in older age have mostly been conducted via self-report, which can result in inaccurate data. To precisely study the link between napping and age-related cognitive impairment, 24-hour sleep studies (i.e., hooking folks up to a monitor that tracks their sleep) must be conducted. Though there is evidence for disrupted nighttime sleep being associated with dementia, napping being a cause for cognitive decline has been a contentious subject. Studies of older adults have shown that people with dementia were three times more likely to nap throughout the day compared to those without dementia.
Recent studies show that the effects can go both ways; older adults with cognitive impairment are more inclined to nap, and excessive napping may lead to cognitive decline. More studies need to be conducted to understand the correlation between napping and cognitive impairment and decline. So is napping bad for you? Not necessarily, as long as you limit the amount of time you spend napping throughout the day. Napping for 20 minutes or less can be just the thing you need to continue your day.
If you’re worried that your napping is excessive, or that it’s impacting your night-time sleep, it may be time to speak to a sleep specialist. Feel free to reach out to me here and we can assess further the cause and impact of your naps.
