Daytime naps could be a warning sign for bad health
Apr 28, 2026, 4:05 PM
As hard as you try, you can’t catch up on lost sleep.
New study said that naps could be bad for your health. As we age, it is common to nap during the day.
Daytime napping could be a marker of dying. If you need a nap or want a nap it could mean potentially something is wrong when you sleep. Are you stressed? Do you snore? Do you have to wake up and pee?
When I did the morning show, napping wasn’t optional — it was survival. I had a minimum hour long nap every afternoon. So when I saw this new study, I took it personally.
A study just published in JAMA Network Open tracked over 1,300 adults and found that longer, more frequent daytime naps are linked to higher mortality risk. Each extra hour of napping raised the risk by 13 percent, and morning nappers had a 30 percent higher risk than afternoon nappers.
But here’s the good news — short naps under an hour showed no significant risk. A 10-to-20-minute power nap can still boost your memory and focus without the scary stuff. No naps should be longer than 30 minutes. The reason is when you wake up you have sleep inertia. 30 minutes is what your brain will allow in afternoon.
So naps aren’t the enemy. They might just be your body waving a little flag saying, “Hey, pay attention to me.”
To sleep or not to sleep? Nap smart, friends.
Risk associated with daytime napping here.
