Sleep quality of the elderly 'not affected by naps'

A new study has revealed that having a nap during the afternoon should not interrupt the quality of sleep elderly people get during the night.

It was also found that they did not sleep any less when they went to bed if they had a nap during the day or in the early evening, research by Dr Jennifer Picarsic at the University of Pittsburgh found.

Of 414 adults tested, who were aged between 70 and 89, 54 per cent said they napped for an average of 55 minutes at least once a week, Reuters reports.

"Reported poor sleep was not more prevalent in nappers than in non-nappers," the report noted in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The survey also discovered that 37 per cent of men nodded off during the day compared to 24 per cent of women.

A previous study by Greek researchers found that people who napped three times a week had a 37 per cent lower risk of heart-related death, the BBC reported.

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