New Research Reveals It’s Not Just How Long You Nap – It’s When: What the Latest Longevity Study Found

Last year, we reported on research linking afternoon naps to a higher mortality risk. Now, a major new study – using nearly two decades of data and nearly identical researchers – has refined that picture, and in one important way, turned it on its head.

What the new study found

Published in JAMA Network Open, the study followed 1,338 adults aged 56 and over from the long-running Rush Memory and Aging Project in northern Illinois, using wearable activity trackers rather than relying on people’s memory of their own habits. Participants were tracked for up to 19 years, with an average follow-up of 8.3 years, making it one of the most robust long-term studies of its kind.

The results, led by researcher Dr Chenlu Gao (who also worked on last year’s Massachusetts General Hospital nap study), found:

• Every extra hour of daytime napping was associated with roughly a 13 per cent higher risk of death
• Every additional daily nap was associated with around a 7 per cent higher risk of death
• Morning naps (taken between 9am and 1pm) carried a higher mortality risk than naps taken in the early afternoon
• Irregular napping – snoozing some days but not others – was not linked to increased mortality risk. It was specifically the persistent, heavy nappers who showed higher risk.

That morning-versus-afternoon finding is the most significant shift from what we reported last year, when afternoon naps were flagged as the riskier window. Sleep research in this area is still evolving, and this latest, longer-running study suggests the picture may be more nuanced – or simply that timing matters differently depending on how researchers measure it. Either way, it’s a useful reminder that this remains an active and developing area of research, not a settled matter.

Why would napping be linked to an earlier death?

Importantly, the researchers are clear that this is a correlation, not proof that naps themselves shorten your life. Dr Gao and colleagues suggest that excessive, frequent napping is more likely a symptom of something else already going on – undiagnosed cardiovascular disease, sleep apnoea, chronic inflammation, or a disrupted body clock – rather than the direct cause of poorer health outcomes.

In other words, a long lie-down on the couch most afternoons may be your body’s way of flagging that something isn’t quite right, rather than the nap itself doing the damage. The researchers say this makes napping patterns a potentially useful early warning sign – something a GP or specialist could factor in alongside other health checks, rather than a habit to feel guilty about on its own.

How does this compare to how Australians actually sleep?

While there isn’t yet a large-scale Australian study specifically tracking naps and mortality, we do know Australians as a whole aren’t sleeping especially well. A 2024 survey by financial comparison site Finder found 71 per cent of Australians struggle to get a good night’s sleep – equivalent to an estimated 14.8 million adults – with the average Australian getting just 6.9 hours a night, short of the recommended seven to nine hours. Separate research from the Sleep Health Foundation has found sleep problems and their daytime consequences affect between a third and almost half of Australian adults.

Given how widespread poor overnight sleep already is, it’s easy to see why a nap might feel like a necessary top-up for many older Australians – which makes the nuance in this new research especially relevant: an occasional, short nap to make up for a rough night is a very different thing to a long, frequent, habitual one.

What this means for you

The takeaway hasn’t changed dramatically from last year, but it’s now better supported: an occasional short nap isn’t something to worry about, particularly if your nighttime sleep has been disrupted. What’s worth paying attention to is a pattern of long, frequent naps, especially multiple naps a day or ones that have crept later — or, per this new data, earlier — into your morning.

If you’ve noticed your own napping habits changing significantly, especially alongside other symptoms like unusual fatigue, breathlessness or disrupted night sleep, it’s worth mentioning to your GP. As the researchers point out, it may be a useful early clue rather than something to dismiss as simply “getting older.”

This article is general in nature and isn’t a substitute for personalised medical advice. If you have concerns about changes in your sleep or energy levels, speak with your GP.

READ MORE: The surprising way your nap habits could affect your longevity

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.