Summary: A long or frequent morning nap in older adults may signal underlying health problems. In a prospective study of 1,338 older adults followed for up to 19 years using wrist-worn activity monitors, researchers found that longer and more frequent daytime naps — particularly in the morning — were associated with higher all-cause mortality. The findings suggest that objective nap monitoring with wearable devices could help identify early signs of neurodegeneration, cardiovascular decline, or other health issues.
Researchers from Mass General Brigham and Rush University Medical Center analyzed actigraphy data and clinical follow-up from the Rush Memory and Aging Project to examine how nap duration, frequency, timing, and day-to-day variability relate to long-term health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. Their results were published in JAMA Network Open.
Key Findings
- The restorative nap exception: Short, infrequent naps can be beneficial and restorative for many older adults. The increased risk was linked to excessive and frequent daytime sleep rather than brief, occasional naps.
- Consistency matters: Irregular napping — for example, napping one day and not the next — was not associated with increased mortality. Persistent, heavy napping habits were the signal associated with higher risk.
- Clinical potential: Objective tracking of daytime naps using wearables offers clinical value for early detection of health decline in aging populations.
The cohort included 1,338 adults aged 56 and older who participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project. Beginning in 2005, participants wore wrist activity monitors for an average of roughly 9.6 days to capture rest-activity cycles. The investigators extracted daytime napping metrics — total nap duration, number of naps per day, timing (morning vs. afternoon), and variability in nap duration across days — then linked those baseline nap characteristics to all-cause mortality over up to 19 years of follow-up.
Key quantitative results: each additional hour of daytime napping was associated with approximately a 13% higher mortality risk; each additional nap per day corresponded to about a 7% higher mortality risk; and people who napped in the morning had roughly a 30% higher mortality risk compared with those who napped in the early afternoon. Importantly, greater day-to-day variability in nap duration did not predict mortality after adjusting for other factors.
Lead author Chenlu Gao, PhD, emphasized that the findings represent associations, not proven cause-and-effect. Excessive daytime sleep is likely a marker of underlying disease, chronic conditions, disturbed nocturnal sleep, or circadian dysregulation rather than the direct cause of mortality. Still, the strength of the association supports the idea that wearable-derived nap assessments could serve as a practical screening tool in clinical and public health settings.
Authorship and disclosures: The paper lists Chenlu Gao, Ruixue Cai, Xi Zheng, Arlen Gaba, Lei Yu, Aron S. Buchman, David A. Bennett, Lei Gao, Kun Hu, and Peng Li among the authors. Some authors disclosed relationships with iFutureLab and other organizations; those interests were reviewed and managed by Mass General Brigham according to institutional policies and were reported as unrelated to the current work.
Funding: The study was supported by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity, the National Institute on Aging, and additional grants and start-up funds noted by the investigators. Funders did not influence study design, data collection or analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to publish.
Key Questions Answered:
A: No. This study highlights excessive napping — extra hours or multiple naps per day — as the association with higher mortality. Short, infrequent power naps remain a common, healthy way to recharge for many people.
A: A morning nap can signal “sleep pressure” or circadian rhythm disruption, implying poor restorative sleep at night or a misaligned internal clock. Such patterns are more often linked to neurodegenerative processes or serious sleep and health disturbances.
A: Yes. The study supports the clinical value of objective data from wearable devices. Increasing nap duration or frequency over time in yourself or a loved one is a valid reason to discuss symptoms and concerns with a clinician.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- The journal paper was reviewed in full.
- Additional context was added by editorial staff.
About this sleep and neurology research news
Author: Cassandra Falone
Source: Mass General
Contact: Cassandra Falone – Mass General
Image: Image credit: Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Objectively Measured Daytime Napping and All-cause Mortality in Older Adults” by Chenlu Gao et al., JAMA Network Open. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.7938
Abstract (concise):
Daytime napping is common in older adults, but prior research relied heavily on self-report and often omitted details such as nap timing and day-to-day variability. Using actigraphy from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, investigators measured daytime nap duration, frequency, timing, and variability in 1,338 participants aged 56 and older, with up to 19 years of follow-up. After adjusting for covariates, longer total nap time and more frequent naps at baseline were associated with higher all-cause mortality; morning napping carried a higher risk compared with early afternoon napping. Variability in nap duration across days did not predict mortality. These results underscore the potential of wearable-based nap monitoring to identify individuals at elevated risk and to prompt further clinical evaluation.