"“We know that older people tend to nap a lot. And we do a lot of work on age-related diseases, so we were thinking napping could predict mortality in older adults,” said Chenlu Gao, a researcher in the MGB Department of Anesthesiology, and lead author of the study. Gao is also a research fellow in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital."
"“We had this great opportunity to collaborate with the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, who have a comprehensive data set,” said Gao. “Using this data set, we found that there is a connection between daytime napping and mortality in older adults.”"
"“What is great about this study is that it objectively measured daytime napping patterns, not just via self-report,” Gao said. At baseline, there was little connection between mortality and subjects who napped within or below the “average” amount for their age group—just un"
Excessive daytime napping in older adults is associated with higher mortality rates, indicating a possible link to underlying disease. Older adults often nap frequently, but inability to stay awake even after a full night of sleep may be a warning sign. Researchers used data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, which began in 1997 and later added wrist monitors to measure rest-activity patterns for 10 days. The study extracted nap length, frequency, timing, and day-to-day variability. Daytime napping patterns were measured objectively rather than relying on self-reports, strengthening the observed connection between napping and mortality.
Read at Harvard Gazette
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