Excessive Napping Equals Dementia

A new study found that frequent napping or napping for extended periods of time during the day may be a sign of early dementia in older adults.

 According to a study published Thursday in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, elderly adults who napped at least once a day or for more than an hour a day were 40% more likely to develop Alzheimer's than those who did not nap daily or napped for less than an hour a day.

"We discovered that the association between excessive daytime napping and dementia persisted even after we adjusted for nighttime quantity and quality of sleep," said co-senior author Dr. Yue Leng, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, in a statement.

The findings echo those of a previous study by Leng, which found that napping two hours per day increased the risk of cognitive impairment compared to napping less than 30 minutes per day.

The Rush Memory and Aging Project, which followed over 1,400 people between the ages of 74 and 88, with an average age of 81, collected data for the new study over a 14-year period.

"I believe the general public is unaware that Alzheimer's is a brain disease that frequently causes changes in mood and sleep behavior," said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine.

"Excessive napping may be one of the many clues that a person could be on the road to cognitive decline, and trigger an in-person evaluation with a treating physician," said Isaacson, who was not involved in the study.

A greater need for naps

Sleep quality and quantity do deteriorate with age, often as a result of pain or complications from chronic conditions, such as more frequent bathroom breaks. As a result, elderly people tend to nap more frequently than younger people.

 However, daytime napping can be a sign of brain changes that are "independent of nighttime sleep," according to Leng. She cited previous research suggesting that the formation of tau tangles, a hallmark sign of Alzheimer's disease, may be affecting wake-promoting neurons in key areas of the brain, disrupting sleep.

The study indicated that for adults who did not acquire cognitive impairment, daily daytime napping increased by an average of 11 minutes per year during a 14-year period. A diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, on the other hand, increased nap time to a total of 24 minutes each day. Alzheimer's patients increased their nap duration by nearly thrice, to an average of 68 minutes each day.

According to Leng, the "dramatic increase" in napping length and frequency over time appears to be a particularly crucial indication.

"I don't think we have enough evidence to draw conclusions about a causal relationship, that it's the napping itself that caused cognitive aging, but excessive daytime napping might be a signal of accelerated aging or cognitive aging process," she said.

What should We do?

Adults should limit daytime naps to 15 to 20 minutes before 3 p.m. to get the most restorative benefits and avoid disrupting evening sleep, according to Leng.

In addition, she recommends that older folks and caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease pay closer attention to daytime napping practices and be on the lookout for indicators of excessive or increased napping.

 According to Isaacson, any major increase in napping behavior should be reviewed with a doctor.

"I think it's never too late for someone to be able to make a brain-healthy lifestyle change or pay more attention to their brain health," Isaacson said. "Making sleep a priority, paying attention to sleep quality and talking to your doctor about sleep: These are all critical things."