If you sometimes feel like taking a nap during the day, there is nothing wrong with that. Chinese researchers have found that even a five-minute nap can have a positive effect on our mental abilities and even prevent the onset of dementia. The results of the study were published in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers studied the sleep patterns of more than 2.2 thousand healthy people aged 60 and older living in major Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an). Among them, 1534 people took daytime naps ranging from five minutes to two hours, while the remaining 680 people never took daytime naps.
It turns out that daytime sleep promotes more accurate spatial orientation, fluency of speech, and clarity of memory in older people. All of the study participants were also screened for signs of dementia. It turned out that people who napped during the day did much better.
In developed countries, dementia affects approximately one in ten people over the age of 65. Approximately 50 million people worldwide are living with the disease, which causes a decline in memory, mental abilities, and the ability to orient oneself in space and time and recognize familiar people.
As people age, their sleep patterns change and they often start sleeping during the day. Until now, scientists have been unable to agree on whether daytime sleep reduces the risk of dementia or is a symptom of the disease. The researchers emphasize that the study was exploratory, and they cannot yet prove that daytime napping really helps preserve cognitive function and prevent the development of dementia. For example, the study did not take into account the duration of daytime sleep or the time of day the participants slept, and these factors may be very important. But researchers have drawn some conclusions.
According to researchers, all it takes to feel noticeably better is a five-minute nap. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. The number of offers should remain: episodes. The end of the story: Podcast Advertising
They suggested that daytime sleep serves as the body’s response to certain inflammatory processes. “Chemicals that cause inflammation directly contribute to sleep disorders. Sleep regulates the body’s immune response, and daytime sleep may be a developed ability for us to respond to inflammation. People with more active inflammatory processes tend to sleep more,” the study says.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Sara Imarisio noted that people with dementia often experience sleep problems. However, research shows that changes in sleep patterns can begin long before the first symptoms of the disease, such as memory loss, appear. According to her, the authors of the study were not able to determine how daytime sleep affects memory and cognitive processes, only that there is an association. “Other studies have also found a link between the development of dementia and changes in sleep quality, but a more comprehensive study is needed to examine factors related to sleep, not just daytime sleep,” she noted. She says this will provide a clearer picture of the link between dementia and daytime sleep.