New research suggests that taking regular daytime naps not only leaves you feeling refreshed but also benefits your brain. A study analyzing data from individuals aged 40 to 69 has found that daytime napping could slow down the rate at which the brain shrinks with age. The study compared brain volume differences between habitual nappers and those who did not nap and found that the average disparity was equivalent to 2.6 to 6.5 years of aging. The researchers hope that these findings will help reduce any existing stigma surrounding daytime napping.
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Previous research has indicated that individuals who take short naps perform better in cognitive tests afterward compared to those who do not nap. This new study, published in the journal Sleep Health, aimed to investigate whether there is a causal relationship between daytime napping and brain health.
The researchers examined 97 sections of DNA believed to influence a person’s likelihood of habitual napping. They compared measures of brain health and cognition between individuals genetically predisposed to napping and those who did not have these genetic variations. The data came from 378,932 participants in the UK Biobank study.
The study revealed that those predetermined to nap had a larger total brain volume. The genetic variants influencing the likelihood of habitual napping had been identified in a previous study involving 452,633 UK Biobank participants.
However, the researchers did not find a difference in the performance of habitual nappers versus non-nappers on three other measures of brain health and cognitive function.
Lead author Valentina Paz, a PhD candidate at the University of the Republic in Uruguay and the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health & Ageing at UCL, explained that this study is the first to explore the causal relationship between habitual daytime napping and cognitive and structural brain outcomes. By analyzing genes present at birth, the researchers used Mendelian randomization to avoid confounding factors that may influence the associations between napping and health outcomes.
The study highlights a causal link between habitual napping and larger total brain volume, suggesting that short naps could play a role in preserving brain health as individuals age. Dr. Victoria Garfield, senior author of the study, expressed hope that research like this will help reduce any remaining stigma surrounding daytime napping.
