MSGID: 1:317/3 64927d1f   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Regular napping linked to larger brain volume    
    Daytime napping may help to preserve brain health by slowing the rate at   
   which our brains shrink as we age    
      
     Date:   
         June 20, 2023   
     Source:   
         University College London   
     Summary:   
         A study analyzed data from people aged 40 to 69 and found a causal   
         link between habitual napping and larger total brain volume --   
         a marker of good brain health linked to a lower risk of dementia   
         and other diseases.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Daytime napping may help to preserve brain health by slowing the rate at   
   which our brains shrink as we age, suggests a new study led by researchers   
   at UCL and the University of the Republic in Uruguay.   
      
   The study, published in the journal Sleep Health, analysed data from   
   people aged 40 to 69 and found a causal link between habitual napping   
   and larger total brain volume -- a marker of good brain health linked   
   to a lower risk of dementia and other diseases.   
      
   Senior author Dr Victoria Garfield (MRC Unit for Lifelong Health & Ageing   
   at UCL) said: "Our findings suggest that, for some people, short daytime   
   naps may be a part of the puzzle that could help preserve the health of   
   the brain as we get older."  Previous research has shown that napping   
   has cognitive benefits, with people who have had a short nap performing   
   better in cognitive tests in the hours afterwards than counterparts who   
   did not nap.   
      
   The new study aimed to establish if there was a causal relationship   
   between daytime napping and brain health.   
      
   Using a technique called Mendelian randomisation, they looked at 97   
   snippets of DNA thought to determine people's likelihood of habitual   
   napping. They compared measures of brain health and cognition of people   
   who are more genetically "programmed" to nap with counterparts who did   
   not have these genetic variants, using data from 378,932 people from   
   the UK Biobank study, and found that, overall, people predetermined to   
   nap had a larger total brain volume.   
      
   The research team estimated that the average difference in brain volume   
   between people programmed to be habitual nappers and those who were not   
   was equivalent to 2.6 to 6.5 years of ageing.   
      
   But the researchers did not find a difference in how well those programmed   
   to be habitual nappers performed on three other measures of brain health   
   and cognitive function -- hippocampal volume, reaction time and visual   
   processing.   
      
   Lead author and PhD candidate Valentina Paz (University of the Republic   
   (Uruguay) and MRC Unit for Lifelong Health & Ageing at UCL) said: "This   
   is the first study to attempt to untangle the causal relationship between   
   habitual daytime napping and cognitive and structural brain outcomes. By   
   looking at genes set at birth, Mendelian randomisation avoids confounding   
   factors occurring throughout life that may influence associations between   
   napping and health outcomes. Our study points to a causal link between   
   habitual napping and larger total brain volume."  Dr Garfield added:   
   "I hope studies such as this one showing the health benefits of short   
   naps can help to reduce any stigma that still exists around daytime   
   napping."  The genetic variants influencing our likelihood to nap were   
   identified in an earlier study looking at data from 452,633 UK Biobank   
   participants. The study, led by Dr Hassan Dashti (Harvard University   
   and Massachusetts General Hospital), also an author on the new study,   
   identified the variants on the basis of self-reported napping, and this   
   was supported by objective measurements of physical activity recorded   
   by a wrist-worn accelerometer.   
      
   In the new study, researchers analysed health and cognition outcomes for   
   people with these genetic variants as well as several different subsets   
   of these variants, adjusted to avoid potential bias, for instance avoiding   
   variants linked to excessive daytime sleepiness.   
      
   Genetic data and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain were   
   available for 35,080 individuals drawn from the larger UK Biobank sample.   
      
   In terms of study limitations, the authors noted that all of the   
   participants were of white European ancestry, so the findings might not   
   be immediately generalisable to other ethnicities.   
      
   While the researchers did not have information on nap duration, earlier   
   studies suggest that naps of 30 minutes or less provide the best   
   short-term cognitive benefits, and napping earlier in the day is less   
   likely to disrupt night-time sleep.   
      
   Previous research looking at the UK and the Netherlands found that nearly   
   a third of adults aged 65 or over had a regular nap.   
      
   The study was supported by Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation   
   and the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation. In Uruguay it was   
   supported by Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Ba'sicas (PEDECIBA,   
   MEC-UdelaR), Agencia Nacional de Investigacio'n e Innovacio'n (ANII),   
   Comisio'n Sectorial de Investigacio'n Cienti'fica (CSIC, UdelaR), and   
   Comisio'n Acade'mica de Posgrados (CAP, UdelaR). In the United States   
   it was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Sleep_Disorder_Research # Diseases_and_Conditions #   
                   Brain_Tumor # Today's_Healthcare   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Intelligence # Brain-Computer_Interfaces # Brain_Injury   
                   # Neuroscience   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Multi-infarct_dementia o Alzheimer's_disease o Amygdala   
             o Psycholinguistics o Brain o Human_brain o Health_science   
             o Brain_damage   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_College_London. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Valentina Paz, Hassan S. Dashti, Victoria Garfield. Is there an   
         association between daytime napping, cognitive function, and brain   
         volume? A Mendelian randomization study in the UK Biobank. Sleep   
         Health, 2023; DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.05.002   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230620113759.htm   
      
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