There’s something to howl about in a post-sunrise snoozer. A survey of 378,932 UK residents found that daytime naps can improve brain function and health.
Researchers used data from the UK Biobank to conduct the study, published in the journal Sleep Health. new york forcet yesterday.
“Daytime napping has been linked to cognitive function and brain health in observational studies, but whether these associations are causal remains elusive,” the authors say. “Using Mendelian randomization, we studied the relationship between habitual daytime napping and cognition and brain structure.”
The sleep report was co-authored by scientists from the University of the Republic of Montevideo in Uruguay. University College London; Massachusetts General Hospital; and Harvard Medical School.
“Our outcomes were total brain volume, hippocampal volume, reaction time and visual memory,” the researchers said, adding that they used a variety of napping tools to ensure more robust results.
And the bigger the brain, the better.
According to the National Institute of Health, brain size is known to decrease with age by 5% per year after age 40.
Sleep studies have also analyzed the frequency of naps, highlighting that the length and timing of naps can also affect cognitive function.
Longevity experts and biohackers alike have been talking about the need for adequate sleep in an increasingly stressful world.
Billionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson has highlighted sleep, a healthy diet and avoiding unhealthy habits as great ways to start living a longer, healthier life.
On his $4 million quest for immortality, Johnson said he prioritizes sleep above all else.
“Nothing is more important to me than sleep,” Johnson said. decryption. “I plan when I eat, my social events, my work schedule, everything to do with my sleep. This is the exact opposite of what society does now.”
Last November, a multinational study of 60,000 people in the UK found that people with less regular sleep patterns had a higher risk of dying before the age of 75.
“Sleep regularity was a significant predictor of risk of death from cardiometabolic, cancer, and other causes in competing risk proportional subhazards models,” said the report by the Illinois-based Sleep Research Society. .
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
