A nap a day keeps memory loss at bay

Napping during the day can help older people stay mentally sharp by reducing brain shrinkage.

From the age of 35, the brain shrinks at a rate of 0.2 to 0.5 percent per year, and even more after age 60.

This can contribute to “senior moments,” memory loss, and even cognitive impairment and dementia.

But one study suggests that people who usually nap during the day have greater brain volume, meaning their brains can shrink less over time.

Compared to people who don’t usually nap, it’s estimated that people who nap regularly may be 2.6 to 6.5 years younger on average.

The brain size results, for 35,080 people in the UK, didn’t just look at how regularly people said they napped.

This snapshot question can be misleading, as people may be napping due to health conditions such as high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, which can make them sleepier and also affect their brain shrinkage.

So researchers instead looked at people’s lifelong genetic predisposition to taking regular naps, which shows more clearly whether naps themselves affect the brain.

Dr. Victoria Garfield, senior author of the study, from University College London, said: “Our findings suggest that for some people, short daytime naps may be part of the puzzle that can help maintain brain health as we age.” .

“I hope that studies like this one showing the health benefits of short naps can help lessen the stigma that still exists around daytime naps.”

According to previous research from the UK and the Netherlands, more than a quarter of people aged 65 and over take a nap during the day, as do nearly 14 percent of adults aged 16 to 64.

There is some evidence that the brain benefits of a short nap, as short as five to 15 minutes, can last as long as three hours.

The new study didn’t find that people who napped regularly did better on card pair visual memory tests, or were faster mentally.

But they did have larger brain volume, which may be because naps allow people to catch up on essential sleep, which can be of lower quality after middle age.

It is well known that sleep is extremely important in protecting the brain from the effects of aging.

The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Sleep Health, looked at people aged 40 to 69 from the UK Biobank study.

To determine people’s predisposition to napping, they used a previous study by UK Biobank volunteers, who were asked how often they napped during the day – to which they could answer that they usually, sometimes or rarely/never – and whose answers were monitored using sleep trackers.

Because these people also had their genes analysed, it was possible to determine the genetic profile of people who usually nap during the day, compared to those who don’t.

This calculation from the previous study enabled the current study to identify habitual naps, based on 92 genetic differences they have, and see how their brain size differed.

The results suggest that the effect of a nap could be a brain that is, on average, 15.8 cubic centimeters larger.

The researchers did not directly compare people with a genetic predisposition to take regular naps with people who were predisposed to never taking a nap.

But the results, which broadly show the greater a person’s genetic likelihood of napping, the larger their brain size, suggest that a normal napper may have a brain the equivalent of 2.6 to 6.5 years younger, based on on the expected brain shrinkage.

And this result was seen even after taking into account factors that can influence how often people napped and their brain size, for example if they had the condition sleep apnea.

It’s unclear from the study how long or how often people need to nap to get the benefits.

But lead author Valentina Paz, from UCL and the University of the Republic in Uruguay, said: ‘Based on previous findings, we know that a short nap of five to 15 minutes is beneficial for cognitive performance, with the benefits occurring immediately afterwards. , with the post-lunch period being the most favorable time to take a nap to overcome the temporary decrease in alertness and performance observed during this period.”

Tips to fall asleep and sleep better

Due to insomnia, you regularly have trouble sleeping. It can get better by changing your sleeping habits

One in three adults in the UK and nearly half of US adults suffer from insomnia, with millions more reporting sleepless nights.

Prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine, noise, shift work and jet lag.

If you regularly have trouble sleeping, there are simple ways to improve your sleep hygiene.

Keep regular sleeping hours

• Try to go to bed when you feel tired and get up at the same time every day.

Create a restful space

• Dark, quiet and cool environments generally make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Get moving

• Exercise is good for your physical health and your mind. It can also help you sleep better. Just don’t do vigorous exercise too close to your bedtime.

Don’t force it

• If you find you can’t get to sleep, get up and do something relaxing. Then go back to bed when you feel more sleepy.

Write down your concerns

• If you find that your worries are keeping you awake at night, try writing them down before you go to bed.

Lighten up the caffeine

• Alcohol and caffeine can prevent you from falling asleep and sleeping deeply. Cutting back on caffeine just before bed and alcoholic beverages can help you taper off.

Source GGZ