Scientists revealed through a study that sleeping too much during naps is not a sign of tiredness, but the symptom of a serious and worrying health problem

Taking an occasional nap after lunch is usually considered a normal habit, especially in older adults. However, a new study conducted by researchers at Mass General Brigham in collaboration with Rush University Medical Center found that when naps become very long or too frequent, this may be a sign of underlying health problems.

The researchers then explain that excessive naps in older people may be an indicator of silent illnesses that have not yet been diagnosed.

What the study conducted by the scientists discovered about naps

The research analyzed the sleep habits of 1,338 older adults, retirees, and people over 56 years old, using wrist monitors that objectively recorded their daytime rest periods.

The experts then compared the data with up to 19 years of follow-up to take a deeper look at the relationship these nap patterns had with mortality.

The results showed that

• Each additional hour of daytime napping was associated with a 13% higher risk of mortality
• Each additional nap per day was linked to a 7% higher risk of mortality

In that sense, one particular group drew attention: those who felt the need to take a nap in the morning.

“A healthy person, after a night’s sleep, should feel fairly rested and able to stay awake in the morning, but for those who are not as healthy, they may have trouble with drowsiness even in the morning," Ruixue Cai, second author of the article, told Harvard.

Why might excessive naps not be tiredness but something more concerning?

The authors emphasize that the study does not show that naps cause a higher risk of death, but they maintain that they may reflect the presence of illnesses that cause excessive daytime sleepiness.

The experts’ example is that just as a person with the flu often feels tired and sleeps more, some older adults may have persistent fatigue caused by illnesses that have not yet shown obvious symptoms.

However, although the work identifies an association, it is emphasized that this is not a cause-and-effect relationship, so more studies will be needed to confirm the influence of excessive napping on health.