As we adjust ourselves to the new reality of Daylight Savings time, one thing becomes clear: When our sleep is disrupted or we lose out on precious sleep, it affects us physically and mentally. And if that goes on for a period of time, it can cause real problems down the road. Aging itself often signals changes in sleep patterns and the arrival of sleep problems- everything from sleep apnea to snoring, frequent wakefulness to restless legs. While the recommendations are that older adults get a minimum of 7-8 hours of sleep per night, probably few of us really achieve that on a regular basis. To find out more, perk yourself up and click here.

Just in time for Daylight Savings came the celebration of National Napping Day– a holiday that was timed to follow the change in clocks each spring. Accordingly, CNN came up with a list of the benefits of napping and the reasons you should occasionally indulge. Among the reasons? Studies show that napping can improve your working memory (allowing you to focus on one task while keeping other tasks in mind), potentially lower your risk of heart failure or heart attack, lessen the likelihood that you’ll indulge in unhealthy snacking, and may even boost your creativity.  While we’ve touted the advantages to be gained from napping in the past, we’ve also noted that excessive napping could have harmful results.

And now comes word of a link between napping and Alzheimer’s disease. With a study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association,  researchers from The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston report that excessive daytime napping among older adults may signal an elevated risk of Alzheimer’s in such adults, and an Alzheimer’s diagnosis may speed up the amount of daytime napping in those diagnosed. Essentially finding a bidirectional link between napping and Alzheimer’s, these researchers want to emphasize that a focus on disrupted sleeping during the night may miss important clues that come from daytime napping. As one of the leading researchers made clear, “Daytime sleep behaviors of older adults are oftentimes ignored, and a consensus for daytime napping in clinical practice and health care is still lacking…Our results not only suggest that excessive daytime napping may be a sign of deteriorating clinical progression of the disease (Alzheimer’s). Our study calls for closer attention to 24-hour sleep patterns- not only nighttime sleep but also daytime sleep- for health monitoring in older adults.”

The website Being Patient (an expert source of news, support, and advice on Alzheimer’s) considers the results of this study to be an alert to caregivers: the longer and more frequent naps are during the day, the more of a red flag they are for Alzheimer’s in both men and women, even in those who might otherwise seem cognitively healthy. The study doesn’t necessarily mean that naps themselves are automatically detrimental to brain health. But certainly, more research needs to be done to determine whether less napping during the day could have a more positive impact on brain health or even lower the risk of cognitive decline.

Bottom line as described in The Guardian? “If you didn’t use to take naps and you notice you’re starting to get more sleepy in the day, it might be a signal of declining cognitive health.” While an occasional short cat nap may be valuable and refreshing, as it becomes more habitual and goes on for longer, that may be a sign to seek out professional help and consultation.