While quick cat naps can often be restorative, previous research has shown that longer naps can negatively impact cognitive ability<\/a> and cardiovascular health<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, a new, nearly two-decade-long study<\/a> of more than 1,330 people reinforces and builds on those findings, showing that longer and more frequent morning naps are tied to a higher risk of death and underlying illness.<\/p>\n Although the researchers did not say if there was a critical threshold for how many naps were too many naps to take, they found that each additional hour of napping was tied to a 13 percent higher risk of death and each extra nap raised that risk by 7 percent. Morning nappers had a 30 percent higher mortality risk compared to afternoon nappers, too.<\/p>\n The findings could help children identify when there\u2019s something seriously wrong with their loved ones, potentially leading to earlier treatment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to note that this is correlation not causation. Excessive napping is likely indicating underlying disease, chronic conditions, sleep disturbances, or circadian dysregulation,\u201d Dr. Chenlu Gao, the lead author of the study, said in a statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cNow that we know there is a strong correlation between napping patterns and mortality rates, we can make the case to implement wearable daytime nap assessments to predict health conditions and prevent further decline,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n The researchers used wearable devices to track the health of the study\u2019s participants, although the participants reported how much physical activity<\/a> they got and any underlying health conditions.<\/p>\n The researchers took their data from the 1997 Rush Memory and Aging Project, which included mainly white individuals over the age of 56 in northern Illinois. <\/p>\n Participants of the project wore wrist activity monitors for 10 days to measure their rest in April 2005 and repeated the practice every year for 19 years. <\/p>\n That\u2019s how the Mass General Brigham researchers were able to determine their sleep patterns, mapping out when and how long the older adults napped.<\/p>\n They did not factor in the quality of the naps or the difference between racial groups or shift workers, and said more research was needed to understand the impact of irregular napping.<\/p>\n But they have some ideas about the physiological processes tying excessive napping to an increased risk of death.<\/p>\n Inflammation, underlying sleep disorders and fatigue-causing chronic health conditions may all increase the risk of death and excessive napping, they said. <\/p>\n \u201cMany chronic health conditions can cause fatigue and excessive sleepiness and prompt napping as a coping mechanism, including chronic lower respiratory diseases, chronic pain, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, metabolic syndrome, mood disorders, and neurodegeneration,\u201d the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n Until now, Gao said, how napping patterns were tied to health had been understudied, although the researchers had previously found a link between excessive naps and Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cOur study is one of the first to show an association between objectively measured nap patterns and mortality and suggests there is immense clinical value in tracking napping patterns to catch health conditions early,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Between 20 and 60 percent of older adults take naps, the researchers say.<\/p>\n Naps are best kept to 15-20 minutes for adults, according to the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>. But most people should limit their shut-eye to under an hour. <\/p>\n And the best time to nap is earlier in the afternoon, before 2 to 3 p.m., so you can still fall asleep at night.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2243715205.jpeg\")
A quick nap probably won\u2019t do you any harm. But if you\u2019re considering taking one in the morning hours or multiple times a day, you might have a higher risk of death or an undiagnosed illness (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Each](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2243714850.jpeg\")
Each additional hour napping was tied to a 13 percent higher risk of death, the researchers found (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n