Naps No Substitute for Good Night’s Sleep

A nap when you slept poorly the night before can be a good thing. Relying on daily naps to make up for chronic sleep deprivation is not, according to a U.S. Army study.

The study, published Sept. 2 in Nature Communications, found the brain is better at flushing out toxins during nighttime sleep.

“These findings suggest that people who rely on catnaps during the day to catch up on sleep or work the night shift may be at risk for developing neurological disorders,” said Lauren Hablitz, lead author of the study and research assistant at the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York.

“In fact, clinical research shows that individuals who rely on sleeping during daytime hours are at much greater risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia, along with other health problems,” she said.