2023-06-22 20:08:43
Scientists from the US, UK and Uruguay have found that daytime napping may improve cognitive functioning and reduce the risk of dementia.
In the study, which was published in the journalSleep HealthScientists analyzed data from more than 378,000 people between the ages of 40 and 69 to see the cognitive performance of those who are genetically “programmed” to nap compared to those who lack similar genes.
Scientists found that those who take naps have larger brains, and lead researcher Valentina Paz, a neuroscientist at University College London, says: “Our study indicates that there is a causal relationship between habitual naps and larger overall brain size.”
Response time and memory decline dramatically during aging, and cognitive impairment is common in older adults, so Paz and her colleagues say identifying modifiable risk factors, such as sleep patterns, is important.
The researchers also used data from a previous study that used data from the UK Biobank on self-reported napping to identify genetic variants that influence our tendency to nap.
From the data, the researchers looked at brain size and 92 sections of DNA that have been linked to a tendency to have more regular daytime sleep.
“This is the first study that attempts to decipher the causal relationship between habitual daytime napping and cognitive and structural brain outcomes,” Paz says.
The study stated that people who were predisposed to naps had “younger” brains when it came to brain size as a measure of age, “and short naps during the day may be part of the puzzle that can help maintain brain health as we get older,” says the author. Eminent, Victoria Garfield, genetic epidemiologist at University College London.
The authors acknowledge that all participants were of white European descent, which limited the generalizability of the study results, and they suggest that future studies should include other age groups as well.
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