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The health benefits of an afternoon nap have long been touted, but a new need for an excessive nap day may come with a red flag. Researchers at the University of San Francisco say this trait could be a harbinger of Alzheimer's disease, reports Live Science. In the new study in Alzheimer's and dementia, researchers discovered that the disease directly attacked parts of the brain responsible for our waking state. Scientists do not seek to alarm those who like to sleep regularly, but adults who develop a new daytime nap model, especially when their sleep at night does not change, may want to pay attention. "It only becomes worrying when it is a change," say researchers Lea Grinberg United States today. "For example, in some cultures, it is quite common to nap every day – it's perfectly fine."
The study suggests that switching to an excessive daytime nap could be one of the first warning signs of the disease. The researchers studied the brains of 13 deceased patients with Alzheimer's disease and compared them to those of seven unaffected individuals. Patients with Alzheimer's disease had accumulated revealing tau proteins in areas of the brain that networked to help us sleep. "It's remarkable because it's not just a brain core that is degenerating, but the entire promotion network of the day before," UCSF senior author Jun Oh said in a press release. "This means that the brain has no way to compensate because all these types of functionally related cells are destroyed at the same time." (Read more stories about Alzheimer's disease.)
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