Naps don't harm older folks' nighttime sleep

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In older adults, taking naps during the day, even in the late afternoon or early evening, does not seem to detract from hours of sleep logged at night or the quality of that sleep, research suggests.

Dr. Jennifer L. Picarsic from University of Pittsburgh and colleagues studied napping behaviors in 414 community-dwelling adults ages 70 to 89 years who were sedentary for the most part and had some physical impairment

More than half of these individuals (54 percent) reported napping at least once per week, with each nap lasting 55 minutes, on average.

Importantly, Picarsic and colleagues not, daytime naps did not appear to worsen nighttime sleep. "Reported poor sleep was not more prevalent in nappers than in non-nappers," they note in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Nappers did not sleep any less at night or have any more trouble falling or remaining asleep, compared with non-nappers.

The study also found that men were more apt to nap than women (37 percent versus 24 percent) as were African Americans (20 percent versus 14 percent) and those with diabetes (28 percent vs 14 percent).

After accounting for factors that might influence the results, the odds of napping were nearly twofold higher in men and in those with diabetes. In nappers, having diabetes, being male, being overweight and having lower cognitive function were independently associated with longer naps.

"This finding provides a new piece of evidence that diabetes has an effect on daytime sleep," Picarsic's team points out.

In a related study published in the same journal, Natalie D. Dautovich and colleagues from University of Florida, Gainesville, asked: "Are evening naps 'bad' for nighttime sleep?"

The answer is no, they report. In this study of 100 nappers ages 60 to 89 (including good and poor sleepers with typical age-related medical conditions) taking an evening nap within 2 hours of bedtime was not associated with impaired nighttime sleep.

In a commentary on these two studies, Dr. Michael V. Vitiello of the Northwest Geriatric Education Center at University of Washington, Seattle, wrote: "We have much, much more to learn about napping in older adults and its relationship to health and well-being."

"Napping may be beneficial or problematic," he added, "depending on individual circumstances."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, September 2008.