Vol. 020– Excessive Napping & Dementia? the Point of View from a Long-Time Napper

1 oz of water to garden your health

2 Tools for growth

1 Cool Product

Random Musings

Reading Time: 2min 30 sec

Inspiration for this week's newsletter stems from new study results on napping and Alzhierms dementia. On occasion, I partake in the occasional nap. So when this article came out I was horrified. Wait, could I have dementia from napping too much?

Action to water your health

A new study from the journal of Alzheimer's Association looked at daytime napping and Alzheimer's dementia.

The Study: Looked at participants aged 81 ± 7 years of age who were given an Actical device (kinda like an apple watch) to track activity.

Using actigraphy (a type of wearable sleep test that tracks your movements) the researchers looked at daytime napping annually for up to 14 years.

I encourage you to read through the study design and stats. But lets jump into the results

So what did they find? 🧐

• longer/more frequent daytime naps are associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. For example, participants who napped ≥ 1 hour/day had a 1.4-fold increased risk compared to those who napped < 1 hour/day

• Participants who napped once or more than once a day had a 40% increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia compared to those who napped less than once a day.

• Looking at the graph the people with 100min/day napping had a higher risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) & Alzheimer’s dementia (AD).

• We notice the same thing with frequency.

So Napping is Bad for Everyone?

No. This study did not look at younger adults so hard to compare. The technology they were using was outdated from 1997 to the early 2000s. So unsure how accurate the information was.

There are plenty of studies that show the benefits of napping—even micro-napping. The key is to set a timer before you nap (~10-20min) and not go into the deeper states of sleep. Otherwise, you may experience sleep inertia ( that grogginess feeling like crap when you wake up).

If you do have a family member whose age range is 74+ and naps excessively. There could be a host of issues but one of them may be early progressive dementia. At least this study told us there is some association with it.

Tools for growth

Go Fucking Do it: How many times have you made new years resolutions or other goals? Only to never do it? Me. Me. Me. Enter this website. You pick a goal "run 5k" and enter the deadline "2 months", the amount of $$ you want to put on the line "$1,000" if you don't complete it, and CC information.

You lose the 1,000 if you don't complete it. Simple but powerful for some peeps.

Gamma: There are many alternatives to PowerPoint. This is one of my favorites. Simple to use, beautiful interface with so many add-ons. For free.

Cool Product

Lumina Desk: Is this desk overkill? yes. But it also has wireless charging on the entire desk. Hidden cables and outlets are built into the desk. You can have apps shown directly on the table as well. DId I mention is height adjustments as well?

Random Musings

Todo apps. There are thousands out there. I've spent hours using and researching most if not all. From taskade to Llama life. But, I find myself making sub-tasks and building out the entire thing. Almost like a curious. So now I only have inbox, today, and completed. No intricate system.

Maximized for starting on the to-do rather than agonizing over where it belongs, under which sub-category.

You're an awesome human

Martin, CEO of braincrumbss