Middle-aged nappers, beware. According to a study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, daytime napping is linked to an increased risk of death.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge interviewed 16,000 people living in England on their napping habits between 1998 and 2000 and then followed them for 13 years. Surprisingly, the study showed that people between the ages of 40 and 79 who took daytime naps for less than an hour were 14 percent more likely to die within a 13-year period than those who did not nap. If the nap time increased to an hour or more, this risk increased to 32 percent. The highest risk of death was associated with the youngest group: participants between the ages of 40 and 65 who took naps were twice as likely to die in the 13-year period than their non-napping counterparts.
The researchers stressed that the discovered link between napping and death is probably not a causal relation. Although the results held after corrections for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking history, exercise habits and pre-existing conditions, napping could indicate other undiagnosed conditions that affect risk of death.
Because napper deaths were particularly linked to respiratory disease, the researchers think sleep apnea may be the missing link between napping and death. This condition, which causes pauses in breathing during sleep, often leads to daytime fatigue. It is also linked to an increased risk of death.
The original study did not document sleep apnea among participants. Although the researchers could approximate cases of sleep apnea by examining BMI and high blood pressure medications, they would like to directly account for sleep apnea in future studies.
Rest assured, nappers. Your fate is not yet sealed.
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