Note, these are the benefits of napping for mental health
The study involved the sleep patterns of 2,214 healthy people aged 60 years and over.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Regular naps can be one way to maintain mental health. This is revealed in a study published in the journal General Psychiatry.
The study looked at the sleep patterns of 2,214 healthy people aged 60 years and over in several major cities in China. About 1,534 participants took regular naps of between five minutes and two hours, while the other 680 did not nap.
Apart from analyzing nap patterns, the team also initiated tests screening dementia for participants. The results showed that regular naps were associated with better location awareness, verbal fluency, and working memory.
“Naps offer a variety of benefits such as memory consolidation, preparation for further learning, increased executive functioning, and increased emotional stability,” said the researchers.
However, such a general effect was not observed in all participant cases. Researchers also said the study could not conclude whether naps prevent dementia and cognitive decline in the elderly.
In addition, participants who took regular naps actually had higher triglyceride levels. This means that regular naps for some people may be associated with several risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Researchers put forward the theory that sleep could be useful in regulating a person’s immune response. The habit of napping is thought to be a growing response to inflammation in the body.
The head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, Sara Imarisio, gave her opinion on the study. He appreciates research showing the benefits of napping, despite suggestions he has also provided.
“A larger-scale study is needed to look at a number of factors related to sleep, not just napping, to get a clearer picture of the relationship between dementia and sleep,” he said as quoted from the website. Sky News.