We procrastinate, we gain: Taking a regular five-minute nap can improve your mental agility and help prevent dementia, study finds
- The researchers studied the sleep patterns of more than 2,200 Chinese seniors
- Each participant also received a standardized screening test for dementia
- Nappers scored better in terms of location awareness, memory and verbal fluency
- However, the team warned that the study did not establish causation
Regular afternoon sleep – even just five minutes a day – can improve your mental agility and help prevent dementia, a study reported.
Researchers in China studied the sleep patterns of 2,214 healthy adults aged 60 and over who lived in several large cities – including Beijing, Shanghai and Xian.
Of the participants, 1,534 reported taking a regular nap between five minutes and two hours, while the remaining 680 did not.
Each of the subjects also participated in a screening test for dementia – the results revealed “significant” differences between nap and not groups.
Afternoon sleep was associated with better site awareness, verbal fluency, and working memory in older adults.
As people get older, their sleep patterns change – and the nap becomes more frequent.
Previous research has failed to reach a consensus on whether napkins could help fight dementia or whether it is actually a symptom of it.
In the developed world, about 1 in ten people over the age of 65 have dementia – the number increasing as global life expectancy increases.
Regular afternoon sleep – even just five minutes a day – can improve your mental agility and help prevent dementia, a study reported (stock photo)
“In addition to reducing drowsiness, midday sleep offers a variety of benefits,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
These, they explained, include “strengthening memory, preparing for further learning, improving executive functioning and increasing emotional stability – but these effects have not been observed in all cases.”
However, the team warned that the study could not establish a causal relationship between nap and mental agility and further noted that the study did not take into account the length or timing of sleep, which could be important. .
However, the team found that those who slept regularly in the afternoon had higher levels of fat in their blood called triglycerides – which means that the nap is linked to risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease, the study said.
The researchers also presented some possible explanations for the findings – including the theory that sleep regulates the body’s immune response and the nap could be an evolved response to inflammation.
“People with higher levels of inflammation also sleep more often,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
Chinese researchers found that afternoon sleep was associated with better site awareness, verbal fluency and working memory in older adults (stock image)
“Scientists continue to work to unravel the relationship between sleep and dementia,” said Sara Imarisio, an Alzheimer’s researcher in the UK.
“Unusual patterns of sleep are common for people with dementia, but research suggests that sleep changes may be evident long before any symptoms such as memory loss begin to occur.”
The authors “could not find out if the chick during the day directly affected memory and thinking, the research showing only a link between the two.”
“While other studies have also shown a link between changes in sleep quality, a larger study is needed to look at a number of sleep-related factors, not just nap,” added Dr. Imarisio. .
This, she said, will “make a clearer picture of the link between dementia and sleep throughout the day.”
The full results of the study were published in the journal General Psychiatry.
WHAT IS DEMENTIA? THE ORIGINAL DISEASE THAT ROBBERS THE SUFFERING OF THEIR MEMORIES
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a number of neurological disorders
A GLOBAL CONCERN
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a series of progressive neurological disorders (those that affect the brain) that impact memory, thinking and behavior.
There are many different types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
Some people may have a combination of types of dementia.
Regardless of the type diagnosed, each person will experience dementia in their own unique way.
Dementia is a global concern, but it is most common in richer countries, where people are likely to live into old age.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED?
The Alzheimer’s Society reports that in the UK today there are over 850,000 people living with dementia, of which over 500,000 have Alzheimer’s.
It is estimated that the number of people living with dementia in the UK by 2025 will increase to over 1 million.
In the United States, there are an estimated 5.5 million people with Alzheimer’s. A similar percentage increase is expected in the coming years.
As a person ages, their risk of developing dementia increases.
The rate of diagnosis is improving, but it is believed that many people with dementia are still undiagnosed.
IS THERE A CURE?
There is currently no cure for dementia.
But new drugs can slow its progression, and the earlier they are seen, the more effective the treatments.
Source: Alzheimer’s Society