United States: An afternoon nap might be inviting for middle-aged people and seniors, but it can cause unwanted consequences.
Some napping patterns may make people more likely to die earlier, says a group of researchers preparing to present at the upcoming American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) meeting.
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According to the lead researcher Chenlu Gao, a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, “People who slept longer during the day, had irregular daytime sleep patterns or slept more around midday and early afternoon were at greater risk, even after accounting for health and lifestyle factors,” US News reported.
The studies bring into doubt the entire idea of the power nap. About 86,500 individuals from the UK Biobank long-term health research project were covered in the study.
Researchers watched how much sleep these people had during a week by using wrist devices and checked that information against records of their deaths.
On average, participants in the study were aged 63 while their napping habits were checked.
It was reported that there were 5,200 deaths during the follow-up period of 11 years.
It was found that these associations led to a higher chance of dying at an early age for:
- People who generally slept for more than an hour during the day.
- People whose sleep habits changed quite regularly.
- People who had a nap between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The result goes against the AASM guidelines, which encourage adults to nap for just 20 to 30 minutes in the afternoon, US News reported.
Naps that are longer than 30 minutes can actually leave someone feeling tired, according to researchers, which reduces the value of taking a siesta.
“Interestingly, the data that shows risks associated with napping around midday and early afternoon contradicts what we currently know about napping, so further research on that link could be warranted,” as per Gao.