TOPLINE:
Long naps of an hour or more, naps in the morning, or regular siestas may increase blood glucose levels in older people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
METHODOLOGY:
- Napping is common in China and other cultures and may play a role in cardiometabolic health, but previous studies on the relationship between napping and glycemic control in T2D have reported conflicting results.
- In a cross-sectional study, the researchers assessed 226 individuals with T2D (median age, 67 years; about half women; mostly retired) from two community healthcare centers in China between May 2023 and July 2023.
- Using questionnaires, the participants were evaluated for A1c levels, as well as frequency, duration (shorter or longer than 1 hour), timing, and type of napping behavior (restorative for lack of sleep vs appetitive by habit or for enjoyment).
- Multivariate analysis controlled for age, sex, body mass index, T2D treatment regimen, diabetes duration, cognitive impairment, depression, night sleep duration, and insomnia symptoms.
TAKEAWAY:
- Among 180 participants who reported napping, 61 (33.9%) took long naps of 60 minutes and more, 162 (90%) reported afternoon napping, and 131 (72.8%) displayed appetitive napping.
- Restorative napping was linked to lower A1c levels than appetitive napping (β, −0.176; P = 0.028).
- Napping frequency was not associated with A1c levels.
IN PRACTICE:
“In clinical practice, healthcare professionals may offer tips about napping, eg, taking a nap less than an hour, taking a nap in the afternoon instead of in the morning, avoiding appetitive napping,” the authors concluded.
SOURCE:
The study, from corresponding author Bingqian Zhu, PhD, of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Nursing, Shanghai, was published in Frontiers in Endocrinology.
LIMITATIONS:
The participants were older individuals, mostly retired, who may have had less need for restorative napping and more time for appetitive napping, limiting generalizability. The sample size may have been too small to find a link to napping frequency. Self-reported data could introduce recall bias. Only A1c levels were used as a measure of glycemic control.
DISCLOSURES:
The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and other sources. The authors declared no potential conflict of interest.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.