Popular Daytime Habit Linked to a 48% Greater Risk of Dementia

The most conscientious make a point to get out and exercise, avoid smoking and keep tabs on blood pressure — maybe even protect their hearing, get vaccinated and listen to music — to lower dementia risk.

But a seemingly harmless routine practiced by as many as a third to half of people over 65 threatens to derail these efforts to keep dementia at bay.

New research from Johns Hopkins suggests that daytime napping is correlated with significantly increased dementia risk in adults 65 and older. . .

Often, naps are seen as a harmless and unavoidable part of getting older. But this new study shows that the frequency, length and spontaneity of the nap could influence the likelihood of developing dementia.

Those who napped most days or every day had a 48% higher risk of developing dementia over 10 years, compared to those who rarely or never napped, researchers found.

Those who napped frequently also had higher BMIs, a greater number of health conditions, stronger depressive symptoms and were more likely to have daytime sleepiness. They were also more likely to be men. (Read more from “Popular Daytime Habit Linked to a 48% Greater Risk of Dementia” HERE)

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