This can lead to a toxic cycle of more napping and further poor sleep, with researchers at the University of California finding that daytime napping may accelerate cognitive decline by causing people to sleep less well at night. “A 20-minute power nap has never hurt anybody, quite the opposite, in fact,” says Dr Stanley. “But if you are napping more frequently, it is going to affect your overnight sleep. As we get older, there are more opportunities to nap, so it can become a vicious cycle.”
Studies show that between 20 and 60 per cent of older adults take naps. “And they can be refreshing and restorative,” says Dr Stanley, “but if you nap every single day, you run the risk of messing up your sleep schedule and finding it harder to fall asleep at bedtime, so try going for a walk or doing something other than sitting down instead.”
An irregular sleep routine
“For the past couple of decades, when we talked about sleep and health, we focused on the number of hours of sleep we were getting,” says Dr Stanley. “However, the message has recently changed and it is not the quantity so much as the regularity. We now know that going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time each day, even at weekends, is the biggest indicator of health and mortality.”
A study in 2020 found that adults with irregular sleeping habits are almost twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as those who wake up at the same time every day. Dr Stanley says this is because a regular sleep pattern sets your circadian rhythm, which is your internal body clock that regulates cell regeneration, insulin and hormone production. Having a lie-in at the weekend disrupts this rhythm, causing what is called “social jet lag”. If you are getting seven to eight hours’ sleep on weekdays, there is no reason why you should not stick to that routine at the end of the week.
Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the US also found that waking up at the same time each day is as good for your heart as exercise and a healthy diet. They also found that adults over the age of 45 who woke up at different times throughout the week were more likely to have hardened arteries than those with a set wake-up time. “Your body thrives on a sleep routine,” says Dr Stanley. “If you start waking up at the same time each day, you will soon start to feel more energised in the mornings.”
