Excessive Daytime Napping Could Be Early Alzheimer’s Warning
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Are you a big fan of the afternoon nap? Many people are and the health benefits have been long extolled, however a recent need for excessive daytime napping may come with a red flag.
UC San Francisco researchers claim the trait could be an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s. In the new study in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, researchers found that the disease directly attacks parts of the brain responsible for keeping us awake.
While scientists aren’t trying to alarm those who enjoy a regular snooze, adults who develop a new pattern of daytime napping—particularly when their nighttime sleep doesn’t change—might want to pay heed.
Researchers Lea Grinberg tells USA Today:
“It only gets worrisome when it represents a change. For instance, in some cultures, it is pretty common to nap every day. This is quite OK.”
The new strongly study suggests that a shift to excessive daytime napping might be one of the earliest warnings signs of Alzheimer’s. Researchers studied the brains of 13 Alzheimer’s patients who died and compared them to the brains of seven people who did not have the disease. The Alzheimer’s patients had buildups of telltale tau proteins in the brain regions that work as a network to help us sleep.
Says lead author Jun Oh of UCSF in a news release:
It’s remarkable because it’s not just a single brain nucleus that’s degenerating, but the whole wakefulness-promoting network. This means that the brain has no way to compensate, because all of these functionally related cell types are being destroyed at the same time.
Once again, researchers don’t point to those who have been taking a daytime nap for years, but for those who have just started, and are napping excessively. Unfortunately they aren’t telling us what they mean by excessively.
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