Overview
- The JAMA Network Open study, published April 20, tracked 1,338 older adults for about 19 years and found that morning, long, or frequent daytime naps were linked to higher mortality.
- Risk rose by an estimated 13% for each extra hour of daytime sleep, and morning naps carried roughly a 30% higher risk than afternoon naps, with an extra daily nap linked to about a 7% increase.
- Researchers used 10 days of wearable monitoring to record nap timing, duration, frequency, and regularity, which provided objective data more reliable than self-reported sleep habits.
- The findings are observational and do not prove cause, yet researchers say these nap patterns can signal hidden neurodegenerative or cardiovascular disease and could guide earlier clinical screening.
- Sleep specialists warn that habitual short sleep of about five to six hours harms thinking over time and recommend CBT-I, a drug-sparing therapy with reported 80–85% effectiveness, for chronic insomnia.