The researchers found that each additional nap per day was associated with a 7 percent higher risk of death, each additional hour of daytime napping raised that risk by 13 percent, and people who tended to nap in the morning had a 30 percent higher mortality risk than afternoon nappers.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean naps are dangerous. Research shows naps can boost memory, focus, and creativity, and they\u2019re culturally accepted in many countries, including Spain, Italy, China, and Japan. The problem is when napping becomes excessive or starts creeping into the morning, said the study\u2019s lead author, Chenlu Gao, a researcher in the Department of Anesthesiology at Mass General Brigham.<\/p>\n
Frequent morning naps may signal underlying problems such as sleep apnea, depression, chronic pain, heart disease, neurodegeneration, or circadian rhythm disruptions, she said. It also may signal a heightened risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a>, with morning and irregular naps linked to worsening brain health.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to note that this is correlation, not causation,\u201d said Gao. \u201cNow that we know there is a strong correlation between napping patterns and mortality rates, we can make the case to implement wearable daytime nap assessments to predict health conditions and prevent further decline.\u201d<\/p>\n The relationship between napping and health is understudied, especially in younger adults, said Gao, who is also a research fellow in MGB\u2019s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders.<\/p>\n Gao couldn\u2019t draw any conclusions for younger populations from her study, she said. For younger adults in the US, workplace napping is often stigmatized or prohibited. Still, some professionals are embracing short \u201cmicrosleeps<\/a>\u201d to stay productive, especially in workplaces where workers can feel \u201cdigital overload.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cFor people who have trouble staying awake, it\u2019s important to find out why. It could be sleep apnea or sleep deprivation,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Dr. Tony Cunningham, director of the Center for Sleep and Cognition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and professor at Harvard Medical School, commended the study for investigating links to mortality but cautioned against acting too quickly on the findings. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing inherently bad about napping,\u201d he said. \u201cSure, it can get out of control, but habitual napping can be a good thing, especially if it\u2019s part of your normal sleep routine.\u201d <\/p>\n He said sleep habits change throughout a person\u2019s life. It\u2019s likely that younger adults aren\u2019t getting enough sleep at night due to work, stress, hormonal imbalances, or, like him, having young kids disrupting their sleep. <\/p>\n \u201cOnce we reach 80+, sleep becomes more fragmented. If there\u2019s a sudden shift, like you\u2019re sleeping, napping, and still not feeling rested, that could be an alarm bell,\u201d he said. \u201cThe duration and placement of naps are important. If it\u2019s a sporadic four-hour afternoon nap, you\u2019re starting a negative cycle feedback loop.\u201d<\/p>\n He recommends naps for 30 minutes or less. \u201cEven a nap as little as six minutes can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re someone who is going through menopause, it absolutely makes sense you need to recharge the battery, but you need to make sure it doesn\u2019t impact your next night of sleep,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can sleep seven hours and still feel like you need a nap. Traditionally, habitual nappers see tremendous benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n For the study, Gao and researchers with the Rush Memory and Aging Project<\/a> looked at the cohorts\u2019 initial nap assessments from 2005 and compared those to their more recent habits in 2025. For those who died since their initial assessment, they looked at how napping may have predicted their mortality risk.<\/p>\n She and her colleagues adjusted for a range of factors, such as sleep medications, chronic conditions, physical activity, race, ethnicity, and depression. They also tracked the frequency, duration, and variability of the days when people took naps and the reasons why. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were most surprised to see morning nappers had a greater mortality risk,\u201d Gao said. \u201cNapping could signal a change in health conditions if people have trouble staying awake, especially in the morning hours. We should be alert after a good night\u2019s sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n So what counts as a \u2018good\u2019 nap?<\/p>\n Sleep specialists generally recommend keeping naps short and taking them in the early afternoon, ideally before 3 p.m. Longer naps can leave people groggy and interfere with nighttime sleep. <\/p>\n \u201cNapping can help return immune markers to baseline after a night of poor sleep, effectively \u2018repairing\u2019 some damage from sleep deprivation,\u201d said Dr. Aarti Grover<\/a>, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Tufts Medical Center. <\/p>\n \u201cA 10\u2013 to 20-minute power nap significantly boosts alertness, memory consolidation, and learning capacity. Occasional naps a few times a week are OK if needed and can help reduce stress by improving emotional regulation, making you less impulsive and irritable,\u201d Grover said. <\/p>\n The study found that naps longer than an hour were more consistently associated with health risks, whereas shorter naps were more likely to be restorative.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the reason for their nap is really important,\u201d Gao said. \u201cOur participants don\u2019t have a culture of napping, but other cultures do. We do need more studies to determine whether napping is beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n Gao suggested going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, avoiding caffeine and alcohol (especially late in the day), avoiding using electronics before bedtime, and getting more sunlight in the morning. <\/p>\n She cautioned against using commercially available sleep trackers because their accuracy varies. <\/p>\n The key questions to ask yourself, Gao said, are: <\/p>\n Are you napping because you can\u2019t stay awake during the day? <\/p>\n Has your need for naps changed suddenly? <\/p>\n Are you having trouble sleeping at night?<\/p>\n If the answers to any of these questions <\/b>are yes \u2014 especially if you are older and suddenly taking longer, more frequent, or morning naps \u2014 it may be worth checking with your doctor, Gao said.<\/p>\n Sarah Rahal can be reached at sarah.rahal@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on X @SarahRahal_<\/a> or Instagram @sarah.rahal<\/a>.<\/p>\n