Daytime Napping Behaviors in Middle-Aged, Older Adults Impact Mortality Risk

Increased mortality seen in association with longer nap duration, greater intraindividual variability, more naps from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 to 3 p.m.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 11, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Certain objectively measured daytime napping behaviors are associated with an increased risk for mortality for middle- to older-aged adults, according to a study presented at SLEEP 2025, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, held from June 8 to 11 in Seattle.

Chenlu Gao, Ph.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues studied 86,565 participants in the U.K. Biobank who did not have a history of shiftwork to examine whether actigraphy-measured objective daytime napping behaviors can predict all-cause mortality in middle- to older-aged adults (baseline age, 63 years).

The researchers found that the median nap duration was 0.40 hours/day, and intraindividual variability of nap duration was 0.39 hours/day. Overall, 34, 10, 14, 19, and 22 percent of naps were taken between 9 to 11 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 to 3 p.m., 3 to 5 p.m., and 5 to 7 p.m., respectively. A total of 2,950 participants (3.4 percent) died during follow-up up to eight years, with an average survival time of 4.19 years after baseline. Associations were seen with mortality for longer nap duration (per one standard deviation [SD]: hazard ratio, 1.20), greater intraindividual variability (per one SD: hazard ratio, 1.14), and higher percentage of naps during 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and during 1 to 3 p.m., (per one SD: hazard ratios, 1.07 and 1.07, respectively).

“Interestingly, the data that shows risks associated with napping around midday and early afternoon contradicts what we currently know about napping, so further research on that link could be warranted,” Gao said in a statement.