Often Sleepy During the Day? Watch for Early Signs of Dementia
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- Studi terhadap 995 lansia Amerika Serikat menemukan kaitan antara kebiasaan tidur siang sering dan risiko demensia 48% lebih tinggi.
- Para peneliti menekankan hubungan ini bukan sebab-akibat, melainkan tidur siang berlebihan bisa menjadi penanda perubahan neurodegeneratif.
- Pakar menyarankan evaluasi medis jika kantuk siang hari tak terkendali, bukan sekadar menambah asupan kafein.
Frequent and uncontrolled napping habits in older adults may be an early indicator of dementia. A study published in The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences found that people aged 65 and older who napped almost every day had a 48% higher risk of developing dementia compared with those who rarely or never napped.
The research, led by Kening Jiang, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, analyzed data from 995 Medicare recipients in the United States over a maximum of 10 years. Participants self-reported their napping habits, including frequency, duration, and whether the naps were planned or unplanned. Besides the 48% higher risk among frequent nappers, the researchers also found that naps of less than 30 minutes were still associated with a 40% higher risk of dementia, while unplanned naps raised the risk by 39%.
Jiang stressed that the mechanism behind this relationship is not fully understood. "One possibility is that napping may reduce the drive to sleep at night, which could lead to disrupted nighttime sleep, and this has also been linked to dementia risk," she said. She also cited other factors, such as inflammation or the neurodegenerative processes underlying dementia, that may affect the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle. "The important next step is to generate stronger evidence on whether this relationship is causal, especially whether changing napping behavior can help reduce dementia risk," Jiang added.
Dung Trinh, MD, an internist at MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, California, who was not involved in the study, said the findings are important because they highlight an aspect often overlooked in brain health evaluations. "As doctors, we usually focus on memory loss and changes in thinking when evaluating dementia. But this study shows that frequent or unplanned napping can provide valuable clues about brain health," he said. He stressed that the relationship is not causal. "Changes in napping patterns may be an early warning sign of underlying brain changes, even before clearer memory symptoms appear," Trinh explained.
Zeeshan Khan, MD, chief of geriatric medicine at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, was also not involved in the study. He advised people who want to nap less to improve the quality of their nighttime sleep. "If you prefer a short, intentional rest in the early afternoon, that is usually fine. The real concern arises when someone starts falling asleep unintentionally, which is a symptom that warrants a medical discussion rather than more espresso," he said.
Although the findings are still observational, their implications for Indonesia are quite relevant. Indonesia's older population continues to grow, and dementia is a significant health burden. Awareness of early signs such as changes in napping patterns can help with early detection. However, further research with local populations is needed to determine whether similar patterns occur here. The question is whether the napping habit common in our society should be reconsidered as part of brain health screening. The answer awaits stronger scientific evidence.
