Afternoon naps are linked to better cognitive performance in seniors.
That’s according to a new study in 2,000 participants aged 60 years and older. The majority (1,534) took a regular post-lunch nap that lasted from five minutes to two hours, whereas 680 did not nap. All were tested for cognitive function using a variety of standardized assessments. Approximately half of the participants also volunteered to take blood lipid tests to assess any links between napping, heart health and cognitive function.
Results showed significant differences in cognitive function and blood lipids between the napping and the non-napping groups. Late-day napping was associated with better cognitive orientation (the awareness of person, place, time, and situation), language, and memory.
Notably, people who napped unintentionally performed worse on a word recall test than their non-napping and intentional-napping peers. In addition, cognitive benefits appeared to decrease with age.
Napping participants also had higher levels of triglycerides than their non-napping peers, a potential sign of worse heart health. But the levels remained within a normal range, which may be why there was no apparent effect on cognitive function, wrote Lin Sun, Ph.D., of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Center, Shanghai Mental Health Center, in China.
The results mirror those of several studies that have shown a link between napping and cognitive health.
The study was published in BMJ journal General Psychiatry.
