Regularly having a small nap during the day is good for the brain and helps keep it bigger for longer, a University College London study has found.
The research found that short naps during the day delayed the process of our brains shrinking as we get older.
However, it recommends that the naps are kept to less than half an hour.
The researchers hope their findings will reduce any stigma that exists around daytime napping.
Dr Victoria Garfield, of the 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.”
The study suggests 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.
The research, published in the journal Sleep Health, suggests that naps can help stave off brain shrinkage as we get older.
Past research has suggested people who have had a short nap perform better in cognitive tests in the hours afterwards than those who did not nap.
The new study looked at whether there was a causal relationship between daytime napping and brain health.
Researchers 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 people who did not have these changes in DNA, using data from 378,932 people from the UK Biobank study.
They found that, overall, people predetermined to nap had a larger total brain volume.
Dr Garfield said the finding was “quite exciting” and that napping was a relatively easy health intervention. She 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."
More research is needed into whether naps could help prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s, say scientists.
