Frequent daytime dozing may signal a greater dementia risk

As people get older, their chances of developing dementia rise. Earlier research has found that 42% of adults older than 55 will eventually develop the condition.

Studies have also suggested that certain healthy habits may help lower dementia risk in older adults, including eating well, exercising more, staying mentally active and socially connected, and getting enough sleep at night.

“Dementia continues to be a leading cause of loss of independence and death among older adults,” Kening Jiang, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Medical News Today.

“Growing evidence suggests that many cases of dementia may be preventable by addressing modifiable risk factors. However, dementia is multifactorial, and much remains to be understood about how different factors contribute to dementia risk,” Jiang cautioned.

Jiang is the lead author of a new study in The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, which found that frequent daytime napping may be another potentially modifiable factor linked to dementia risk in older adults.

Frequent nappers had a 48% higher dementia risk

In the study, researchers followed dementia outcomes in 995 U.S. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older for as long as 10 years using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Participants reported their napping habits, including how often they napped, how long they slept, and whether the naps were intentional or unplanned.

The researchers also found that naps lasting 30 minutes or less were associated with a 40% higher risk of dementia, while unintentional napping was linked to a 39% greater risk.

“Overall, these highlight the importance of considering different napping characteristics, as well as nighttime sleep, when examining the relationship between daytime napping and dementia risk,” Jiang said.

Why might daytime napping be connected to dementia risk?

When asked how daytime naps might affect dementia risk, Jiang said the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood.

“One possibility is that daytime napping may reduce the drive to sleep at night, potentially contributing to nighttime sleep disturbances, which have also been linked to dementia risk,” she explained.

“An important next step is to generate stronger evidence about whether the relationship between daytime napping and dementia is causal, particularly whether changing napping behaviors could help reduce dementia risk among older adults,” she continued. “Also, it is important to better understand the mechanisms underlying this relationship.”

The findings do not show that napping causes dementia

MNT also spoke with Dung Trinh, MD, an internist with MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, California.

Trinh, who was not involved in the study, said the findings were fascinating and important because they highlight something often overlooked in brain-health assessments: daytime behavior may matter as much as nighttime sleep.

“As physicians, we typically focus on memory loss, forgetfulness, and changes in thinking when evaluating patients for dementia,” he explained. “However, this study suggests that frequent or unintentional daytime napping may also provide valuable clues about brain health.”

“What caught my attention was that frequent napping was associated with a 48% higher dementia hazard, while unintentional napping was associated with a 39% higher hazard compared with not napping. It is important to emphasize that this does not mean napping causes dementia. Rather, changes in daytime sleeping patterns may be an early warning sign of underlying changes in the brain, potentially before more obvious memory symptoms appear.”

– Dung Trinh, MD

“As a physician, I see this as another opportunity to recognize potential problems earlier and help patients take a more proactive approach to their brain health,” Trinh added.

Expert advice for better sleep at night

Because napping is common among older adults — and even younger adults — MNT asked Zeeshan Khan, MD, chief of geriatric medicine at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center and an associate professor of family medicine at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey, for advice on improving nighttime sleep and reducing the need to nap.

“If you prefer taking a short, intended rest earlier in the afternoon, that is usually completely fine,” Khan suggested. “The real concern arises when individuals begin nodding off unintentionally, which is a symptom that warrants medical discussion rather than reaching for an extra shot of espresso.”

View the original article on Medical News Today