Love a good nap? So does your brain ... maybe

The headlines were all over the internet a couple of weeks ago: Napping is good for brain health. But, as with all health studies, you have to read the fine print.

Habitual napping was associated with larger total brain volume, which is in turn associated with a lower risk of dementia and other diseases, according to researchers from University College London and the University of the Republic of Uruguay. The researchers estimated the difference in brain volume between nappers and non-nappers was equivalent to 2.5 to 6.5 years of aging.

As I've noted before, though, association is not causation. Is brain volume larger because of napping, or could there be other factors at play - heredity or physical activity, for instance. The study only compared people who are genetically predisposed to nap and those who aren't - not those who elect not to nap. Also, the napping behaviors studied were self-reported by participants, which is not exactly the gold standard for research.

Even with all of those caveats, I agree with the researchers that there's nothing wrong with a brief daytime nap. By brief I mean 30 minutes or so - you don't want it to interfere with the next night's sleep. Afternoons are a good time for napping because that's when we tend to experience a dip in energy levels.

Nappers tend to feel more alert and clearheaded after a snooze, and there's a movement afoot to permit naps on the job, particularly for office workers. Naps are especially helpful for people who don't work regular schedules or who are doing shift work. Aging bladders can wake us up during the night, too. If you don't fall back asleep right away, a nap the next day might be just the thing.

But if you're not regularly getting seven to nine hours of sound sleep a night, I don't recommend long daytime naps to make up the difference. First, you're more likely to wake up groggy after an extended nap because your brain is trying to enter the deep sleep phase. There's evidence that people make more mistakes after a long daytime nap.

Second, a nap doesn't give you the benefit of the restorative nature of sleep - when your eyes and muscles fully relax and your body is repairing and rebuilding bone and muscle, consolidating memories and shoring up the immune system.

Everyone has a bad night once in a while. However, consult your doctor if you experience many consecutive nights of disrupted sleep and days filled with naps. You might need a sleep study to determine whether something like sleep apnea could be the cause.

Napping is associated with other issues as well. Elderly adults who napped at least once a day or more than an hour a day were 40% more likely to develop Alzheimer's than those who did not nap daily or napped less than an hour a day, according to a study published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, in March 2022. Also last year, a study found people who often nap have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke, according to CNN.

And then there are those who can't nap.

Just as there appears to be a genetic disposition toward napping, there also appear to be people for whom napping is physiologically difficult, if not impossible. Jeremy Derbyshire, writing in the Financial Times, is one of those. His attempts at napping usually end in frustration, he says, "after 10 minutes or so lying down rigidly and willing myself, unsuccessfully, into unconsciousness."

Maybe we need to expand the definition of "nap." Let's consider a nap everything from closing your eyes for 10 minutes to just letting your mind wander for a while.

No pressure here!

Even one of the authors of the UCL study is not a big fan of napping. "Honestly," she told the BBC, "I would rather spend 30 minutes exercising than napping."

So, nap if you can. But if you're not cut out for napping, don't lose sleep over it. A brisk walk might be just as beneficial.

• Teri Dreher is a board-certified patient advocate. A critical care nurse for 30+ years, she is founder of NShore Patient Advocates (www.NorthShoreRN.com). Her new book, "How to Be a Healthcare Advocate for Yourself & Your Loved Ones," is available on Amazon. She is offering a free phone consultation to Daily Herald readers; call her at (847) 612-6684.