Latest news with #napping
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctors issue warning as common sleep habit is linked to risk of early death in major study
Daytime napping may be linked to a higher risk of early death, according to a major new study. The discovery was made by researchers who tracking the sleep habits of more than 86,000 healthy middle-aged adults. They found that those who regularly napped—particularly in the early afternoon—were more likely to die prematurely than those who did not. The study, presented at the SLEEP 2025 conference, found the risk of death rose by up to 20 per cent among frequent nappers. Experts say daytime sleepiness may be a warning sign of disrupted or poor-quality night-time rest, and could point to underlying health problems such as sleep disorders, dementia, or heart failure. Professor James Rowley, from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who was not involved in the research, said the findings should influence how doctors ask patients about sleep. 'The major take-home message is that if a doctor asks about a patient's sleep habits, they should also be asking about napping,' he told Medscape Medical News. 'In other words, doctors should be asking their patients, 'Do you nap in the day?' The study focused on middle-aged adults who did not work night shifts and had no major health problems at the outset. This helped to rule out other explanations for excessive daytime sleepiness and suggesting that the link with earlier death may not simply be due to existing illness or lifestyle factors. The participant's sleep was assessed over a week-long period, using actigraphy—a method for monitoring a person's sleep-wake patterns using a small, watch-like device called an actigraph. Daytime napping was defined as sleep between 9am and 7pm. On average, participants napped for around 24 minutes, with approximately a third of naps taken in the morning, between 9 and 11am. During a follow-up period of 11 years, 5,189 of the participants died and overall, researchers noted that as people got older, they slept for longer later in the day. After adjusting for potentially confounding lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol use and nighttime sleep duration, results showed that a less consistent napping routine was associated with a 14 per cent increased risk of mortality. Scientists found the highest risk of death was seen in people who slept for the longest during the day, with people who nap between 11am and 1pm experiencing a seven per cent increased risk. Lead researcher, Professor Chenlu Gao, from Harvard Medical School, said: 'Our study fills a gap in knowledge by showing that it's not just whether someone naps but how long, how variable, and when they nap may be meaningful indicators of future health risk. 'While many studies have examined the links between sleep and mortality, they have largely focused on nighttime sleep. 'However, napping is an important component of the 24-hour-sleep-wake cycle and may carry its own health implications. 'Our findings suggest that certain patterns of napping could serve as early indications of declining health.' The researchers warned that further research is needed to better understand the biological pathways underlying these associations. They noted that longer or more irregular naps could reflect underlying health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and dementia. Other studies suggest the explanation may lie with the impact on our circadian rhythms—the natural sleep-wake cycles that determine a host of bodily functions. The experts, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, also argued that being asleep during the daytime could impact the brain's ability to clear waste that builds up during the day. The findings come after a landmark study last year suggested almost half of all cases of Alzheimer's disease—the most common cause of dementia—could be prevented by tackling 14 lifestyle factors. These included hearing loss, high cholesterol, vision loss and lack of exercise. Experts claimed the study, published in the prestigious journal The Lancet, provided more hope than 'ever before' that the disorder that blights the lives of millions can be prevented. Alzheimer's Disease affects 982,000 people in the UK. Alzheimer's Research UK analysis found 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared with 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country's biggest killer. One 2019 estimate put the annual death toll at 70,000 people a year with the health issues caused costing the NHS £700million each year to treat. The WHO puts the annual global death toll from physical inactivity at around 2million per year, making it in the running to be among the top 10 leading causes of global death and disability.
Medscape
11-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Napping Patterns Tied to All-Cause Mortality Risk
SEATTLE — Timing, duration, and variability of daytime napping are associated with an increased risk for mortality in middle- to older-aged adults, new research showed. An analysis of UK Biobank data, which included more than 86,000 non-shift workers, showed that longer naps, greater variability in daytime napping duration, and higher percentages of naps around noon and in the early afternoon are associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality. 'Our study fills a gap in knowledge by showing that it's not just whether someone naps but how long, how variable, and when they nap may be meaningful indicators of future health risk,' lead investigator Chenlu Gao, PhD, with the Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told Medscape Medical News . 'However, it's important to emphasize that these are associations. Because the design of this study is observational, we cannot determine whether napping patterns cause higher mortality risk or simply reflect underlying health conditions,' Gao cautioned. The findings will be presented on June 11 at SLEEP 2025. An Early Indicator of Declining Health? 'While many studies have examined the links between sleep and mortality, they have largely focused on nighttime sleep, often overlooking daytime sleep. However, napping is an important component of the 24-hour sleep-wake cycle and may carry its own health implications,' Gao explained. For the study, the researchers examined whether actigraphy-measured objective daytime napping behaviors predict all-cause mortality in 86,565 non-shift workers. The cohort had a mean age of 63 years at baseline, and 57% were women. They were monitored by actigraphy for 7 days, and daytime napping was defined as sleep between 9 AM and 7 PM. Median nap duration was 0.40 h/d, with 34% of naps taken between 9 and 11 AM, 10% between 11 AM and 1 PM, 14% between 1 and 3 PM, 19% between 3 and 5 PM, and 22% between 5 and 7 PM. During a follow-up period of up to 11 years, 5189 (6.0%) participants died. Overall, as individuals aged, naps tended to become longer and more irregular, with timing shifting toward the afternoon. After adjusting for potential confounders, including demographics, BMI, smoking, alcohol use, and nighttime sleep duration, longer nap duration was associated with an increased risk for mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.20 for 1 SD; P < .0001). Greater intraindividual variability (HR, 1.14 for 1 SD; P < .0001) and a higher percentage of naps between 11 AM and 1 PM (HR, 1.07 for 1 SD; P = .0005) and between 1 and 3 PM (HR, 1.07 for 1 SD; P = .0002) were also associated with an increased risk for mortality. 'These findings highlight the potential importance of considering napping behaviors in risk stratification of mortality in middle- to older-aged adults,' the researchers noted in their abstract. 'Longer or more irregular naps may reflect poor nighttime sleep, circadian rhythm disruption, or underlying health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, depression, or early neurodegenerative changes. Our findings suggest that certain patterns of napping could serve as early indicators of declining health,' said Gao. However, the researchers did not specifically test these mechanisms in this study, and further research is needed to clarify the biological pathways underlying these associations, Gao cautioned. Ask About Napping Commenting on the research for Medscape Medical News , James A. Rowley, MD, professor of medicine and program director, Sleep Medicine Fellowship, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said the 'major take-home message is that if physicians ask about a patient's sleep habits, they should also be asking about napping, not just the nocturnal sleep period. In other words, physicians should be asking their patients, 'do you nap during the day?'' 'One cannot ignore daytime napping and an evaluation for the etiology of daytime napping is important,' said Rowley. Rowley noted that the key questions to consider include whether the patient is obtaining sufficient nocturnal sleep. Could an underlying sleep disorder — such as sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome — be contributing? Might another medical condition, such as chronic heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, be disrupting nighttime sleep and prompting daytime napping?
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Naps associated with increased risk of death, report says
June 5 (UPI) -- An afternoon snooze might seem appealing to middle-aged folks and seniors, but these naps could carry a high cost. People with certain types of napping patterns have a greater risk of an early death, researchers are slated to report at an upcoming meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "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," lead researcher Chenlu Gao, a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a news release. The findings call into question the whole concept of the "power nap." For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 86,500 people participating in the UK Biobank long-term health research project. These folks had their sleep habits monitored for a week using wrist devices, and researchers compared those habits to death records. Their average age was 63 at the time their napping was tracked. Nearly 5,200 people died during a follow-up of 11 years, researchers said. Results showed an increased risk of premature death for: • People who tended to take longer daytime naps • Folks whose napping patterns fluctuated frequently • People who napped between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. This last observation contradicts academy guidelines, which encourages adults to limit themselves to "power naps" of no more than 20 to 30 minutes in the early afternoon, researchers noted. Naps that last longer than a half-hour can cause grogginess that undercuts the potential helpfulness of a siesta, researchers said. "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," Gao said. Gao is to present these findings Wednesday during the AASM's annual meeting in Seattle. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. More information The Mayo Clinic has more on napping for healthy adults. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Major study identifies common sleep habit that's linked to an early death
If your afternoon naps often last for more than half an hour you could be on your way to an early grave, new research has suggested. A study, by experts from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, also found that napping between midday and early afternoon is linked to dying early. This contradicts advice from the NHS and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. that recommends napping after midday and before mid-afternoon. Napping for durations that wildly vary from day to faced also entails greater health risks. The researchers, who studied almost 90,000 people, found that these alarming associations remained even after accounting for factors like age, sex, body weight, smoking, alcohol use and length of sleep. While experts aren't entirely sure why these three napping habits are linked to early death, there are some potential explanations. It could be that either be longer or irregular naps are a sign of underlying health issues, or this sleeping pattern may disrupt the body's natural rhythms. Other research has found that poor sleep patterns can be a sign of other health issues such as depression, diabetes and heart disease. The new study tracked the health of 86,000 adults with an average age of 63 over the course of 11 years. For one week during the study, they were asked to wear a health tracker device to monitor their sleep. Within the 11 year follow-up period, 5,189 people, six percent of the group, died. While results showed that those with specific napping behaviours were more likely to die, the study cannot prove cause and effect, the scientists cautioned. Previous studies have raised the alarm over the dangers of napping. Earlier this year, a study found that long daytime naps can increase the risk of a stroke by nearly a quarter. Studies suggest that around one in five people in the UK regularly have naps, although the habit is most common in people who sleep for five hours a night or less. A healthy adult is recommended by the NHS to get around seven to nine hours sleep, but age, health, and personal circumstances affect how much you need.
The Sun
28-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
The 3 common sleep habits that increase your risk of dying young – as red flag raised over napping danger
YOU might think a quick kip during the day is harmless – or even healthy. After all, in parts of the Mediterranean, daytime naps - or siestas - are seen as a good way to reboot your system during the post-lunch slump. Earlier this year, scientists from Texas, said that taking an afternoon nap can increase adults problem-solving brain power. But now, new research from the US has flipped that idea on its head, suggesting that certain nap habits could actually raise your risk of dying young. This isn't the first time science has raised concerns - with many experts remaining wary of the adult nap. Previous studies have linked daytime snoozing to a higher risk of d iabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Now, the latest findings, set to be presented at the SLEEP 2025 annual meeting in June, have identified three key reasons why naps could be so dangerous. "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," lead author Dr Chenlu Gao, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said. This was especially the case for middle-aged and older adults. The study tracked over 86,000 adults with an average age of 63, monitoring their sleep patterns using apple-watch-like wrist devices for a full week. They found the average daytime nap lasted about 24 minutes, but those who regularly took longer naps or had wildly varying nap lengths from day to day faced a higher risk of dying sooner. Napping most often around midday to early afternoon was linked to greater health risks. I spent three days at a sleep retreat - these are the top 7 things I learnt "This contradicts what we currently know about napping, so further research on that link could be warranted," Dr Chenlu added. Since mid-afternoon is usually the time experts recommend for napping, The participants were followed for up to 11 years, during which time 5,189 people - about 6 per cent of the group - died. The researchers adjusted for factors like age, sex, body weight, smoking, alcohol use, and how much people slept at night to make sure the links with napping weren't simply due to those other risks. Even after accounting for these, the patterns of longer, irregular, or midday naps still stood out as an influencing risk factor. 2 Experts aren't entirely sure why, but it could be that longer or irregular naps signal underlying health problems, or that they disrupt the body's natural rhythms more than previously thought. Other research has shown that poor sleep patterns can sometimes be a sign of other health issues, like heart disease, diabetes, or depression. Both the NHS and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine say keep naps short - around 10 to 30 minutes - and take them before mid-afternoon (around 3 pm). This helps boost energy without messing up your nighttime sleep or leaving you groggy. But you give up napping for good, the experts note that more research is needed to fully understand the risks, especially since the current study can only show links, not cause and effect. New research has found that certain daytime sleep patterns could increase your risk of dying young — especially if you're middle-aged or older. 1. Long naps Napping for longer than 30 minutes regularly was linked to higher mortality risk. Experts say short 'power naps' of 20–30 minutes are best. 2. Irregular nap schedules People whose nap durations varied wildly from day to day faced greater health risks. Keeping a consistent nap routine may help. 3. Napping around midday to early afternoon Although this is often the recommended time to nap, the study found people who napped most during these hours had an increased risk of early death.
