Napping is a common practice among seniors: 20 to 60% of them indulge in it. Yet a study published in
JAMA Network Open shows that certain daytime sleep habits can betray underlying health problems.
Researchers followed 1,338 elderly people for 19 years using wrist activity monitors. Their findings: long, frequent, or morning naps are associated with a higher risk of death. Each additional hour of napping increased this risk by 13%, and each extra nap by 7%.
Pixabay illustration image
To reach these conclusions, the team used data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a cohort study that began in 1997. Participants wore wrist activity monitors. These devices recorded rest-activity cycles, enabling an objective analysis of napping habits. The researchers then examined how these habits were linked to mortality over 19 years. This method avoids biases from self-reports.
The numbers speak for themselves: each additional hour of napping per day increased the risk by 13%, and one more nap per day increased it by 7%. The most striking finding concerns morning naps, associated with a 30% higher risk than afternoon naps. These associations persisted after adjustment, but the authors note that these are correlations.
The researchers specify that these daytime sleep habits likely reflect underlying health issues, such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, or circadian rhythm disorders. Excessive napping could be a warning sign rather than a cause of mortality. Thus, objective monitoring of naps via smartwatches could help detect these conditions early in seniors. This is what Chenlu Gao, lead author of the study, indicates, seeing these results as a promising tool for preventive medicine.
One strength of this study lies in the use of objective measures via activity monitors, avoiding biases from questionnaires. The nearly 20-year follow-up also allows observation of long-term trends. However, the participants were predominantly white and from northern Illinois, which limits the generalizability of the results. Further research will need to confirm these observations in more diverse populations.
Morning naps are particularly concerning: they could indicate a disrupted circadian rhythm or poor-quality nocturnal sleep. People who wake up late or have fragmented nights tend to compensate in the morning.