People who regularly take naps have a larger brain volume, according to a study. This can protect against dementia.
More and more people are suffering from dementia in old age – and the trend is rising. In the meantime, many are afraid of being affected by the nerve disease themselves later on and want to protect themselves from a disease. Even if there is no guarantee that you will develop it yourself, you can still implement some measures and habits in everyday life to reduce your risk of dementia and prevent memory loss. In addition to sufficient exercise and social interactions, diet plays an important role. As scientists have discovered, a regular nap should also significantly reduce the risk.
Dementia: Regular naps should be able to significantly reduce risk – time and time period are decisive
Regular short naps can lower the risk of dementia, according to a study. Researchers recommend a specific time of the day and a limited amount of time. © Westend61/IMAGO
In a study, scientists from University College London analyzed data from 378,931 Britons aged 40 to 69. The results indicated that some people are genetically more likely to fall asleep during daylight. In addition, scans showed that the brains of participants who regularly napped during the day looked 2.6 to 6.5 years younger. According to study leader Dr. Victoria Garfield, for some people, an afternoon nap can help maintain brain health as they age.
In their study, the researchers also compared the volume of brain mass. This is because a higher brain volume indicates that it is larger, heavier and full of vital nerves – all factors that can reduce the risk of dementia. In addition, with increasing age, a decrease in brain volume can be expected. The results of the study showed that people who napped regularly had, on average, a 1.3 percent higher brain volume.
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Larger brain volume during regular naps reduces the risk of dementia
According to Valentina Paz, lead author of the study, the discovery of a larger brain volume in the regular afternoon naps corresponds approximately to an aging difference of 2.6 to 6.5 years. "An analysis showed that there is a steady decline of 35.0 percent per year after the age of 2, which accelerates to 60.0 percent per year at the age of 5 and to more than 60.0 percent after the age of 5," the scientist explains the background.
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Based on their results, the researchers recommend an early afternoon sleep of less than 30 minutes. This can protect the brain from deterioration caused by too little sleep at night. This is because too little sleep is known to be a disease risk. However, another study says that daytime sleepiness can be an early sign of dementia.
This article contains only general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It is in no way a substitute for a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, individual questions about clinical pictures may not be answered by our editors.