Keeping Your Brain Active and Healthy: An Easy Solution to Try When Weight Loss or Exercise Seems Challenging as Recommended by University College London Researchers.
According to researchers from University College London, incorporating regular short naps into our routine can have significant benefits for our brain health, helping to preserve its size for a longer period of time.
The study revealed that individuals who took naps had brains that were approximately 15 cubic centimeters (0.9 cubic inches) larger, which is comparable to slowing down the aging process by three to six years.
However, the researchers advise limiting naps to less than 30 minutes in duration. They acknowledge that daytime sleep can be challenging for many professionals, as it is often discouraged in work cultures.
Dr. Victoria Garfield, one of the researchers, highlighted the potential advantages of napping, stating, “We are suggesting that everybody could potentially experience some benefit from napping.”
She expressed her enthusiasm for the findings, describing them as “novel and exciting.”
Napping plays a vital role in early development during infancy, becomes less common as we grow older, and experiences a resurgence in popularity after retirement. Around 27% of individuals over the age of 65 report taking daytime naps.
Dr. Garfield suggests that napping is an “easy” activity compared to weight loss or exercise, which can be challenging for many people.
While the natural aging process leads to brain shrinkage, further research is required to determine whether napping can help prevent conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
Maintaining overall brain health is crucial for safeguarding against dementia, and there is a connection between disturbed sleep and this condition.
The researchers propose that poor sleep gradually damages the brain by causing inflammation and disrupting the connections between brain cells.
As a result, regular napping may serve as a protective measure against neurodegeneration by compensating for inadequate sleep, as stated by researcher Valentina Paz.
Nevertheless, Dr. Garfield personally prefers alternative methods for caring for her brain and would rather spend 30 minutes exercising than napping.
“Honestly, I would rather spend 30 minutes exercising than napping, I’ll probably try and recommend that my mum does it.”
Finding the answer to the benefits of napping can be a challenging task.
Napping has been suggested to have positive effects on health, but it is also true that poor health can lead to increased fatigue and the need for more frequent naps.
To establish the benefits of napping, researchers employed a clever technique involving a vast natural experiment centered around our DNA, which contains our genetic code. Previous studies had identified 97 specific sections of our DNA that influence our inclination to take naps or remain awake throughout the day.
The research team collected data from 35,000 individuals between the ages of 40 and 69 who were participating in the UK Biobank project. They compared the genetic profiles of those categorized as “nappers” and “non-nappers.”
The findings, published in the journal Sleep Health, demonstrated a notable difference of 15 cubic centimeters in brain volume, which is equivalent to a delay in aging by approximately 2.6 to 6.5 years. The total brain volume in the study participants was approximately 1,480 cubic centimeters.
“I enjoy short naps on the weekends and this study has convinced me that I shouldn’t feel lazy napping, it may even be protecting my brain,” comments Prof Tara Spires-Jones, from the University of Edinburgh.
She described the study’s findings as “interesting” and noted that they revealed a “small but significant increase in brain volume,” further supporting the importance of sleep for brain health.
While the researchers did not directly investigate the impact of longer midday sleeps, they suggested that the evidence points to a cutoff duration of around half an hour for optimal benefits.
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