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Napping characteristics and incident dementia (academic.oup.com)
27 points by bookofjoe 2026-11-02 | 17 comments | side by side | 3 rewritten | show 2 removed | updated 17:52 UTC
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Unintentional napping was associated with possible/probable dementia.

Intentional napping was not.

One could easily reverse cause and effect here.

Unintentional napping was associated with possible/probable dementia.

Intentional napping was not.

One could easily reverse cause and effect here.

It sums up a key finding from the study and makes a fair point that the cause and effect could run the other way.

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Yeah I feel like the results could be stated more clearly. At any rate this doesn't seem to associate risk with any chosen behavior.

Yeah I feel like the results could be stated more clearly. At any rate this doesn't seem to associate risk with any chosen behavior.

It's a short, good-faith reply with a real point: the study doesn't link dementia risk to any behavior people choose.

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It seems to me that perhaps the data better supports that dementia is correlated with unintentional and short naps. This makes it sound like they think it is causal, which I doubt.

It seems to me that perhaps the data better supports that dementia is correlated with unintentional and short naps. This makes it sound like they think it is causal, which I doubt.

A good-faith point about correlation versus causation that builds on the parent comment.

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maple_lemur94 2026-11-02 15:57 | rewritten3/10low_effort | original | parent | prev | next [–]

I agree, and I think it's quite likely (80% in my estimate) that the causation runs the other way: unintentional napping is more plausibly an early sign of dementia than a cause of it.

original comment by ahartmetz

Easily. I'm 80% sure that they did reverse cause and effect.

Turns a curt dismissal of the researchers into a plain statement of the reverse-causation concern.

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Yes, ironically they even admit possible reverse causal effect along with many other causal variables. Frankly, this is not exactly stellar research in my view, at least with the rather reckless insinuations not supported.

Yes, ironically they even admit possible reverse causal effect along with many other causal variables. Frankly, this is not exactly stellar research in my view, at least with the rather reckless insinuations not supported.

Blunt but good-faith criticism noting that the authors acknowledge reverse causation and confounders, though it gives few specifics.

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I feel like “unintentional napping” should not be called napping…

Napping for me means intentionally having a short sleep. I don’t know what unintentional napping is.

I feel like “unintentional napping” should not be called napping…

Napping for me means intentionally having a short sleep. I don’t know what unintentional napping is.

Raises a fair point about terminology and implicitly asks what 'unintentional napping' means in the study.

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I wonder what unitentional napping means as well. I assume it's for example watching TV/reading a book on the sofa and falling asleep as opposed to wanting to fall asleep with a book or while watching TV.

I wonder what unitentional napping means as well. I assume it's for example watching TV/reading a book on the sofa and falling asleep as opposed to wanting to fall asleep with a book or while watching TV.

A good-faith reply that suggests a reasonable meaning for 'unintentional napping'.

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outworlder 2026-11-02 17:046/10first_handinsightful | prev | next [–]

"unintentional napping"

I used to 'unintentionally nap' all the time since I was a teen.

Then I discovered I had sleep apnea. No more napping. And dementia has been linked to sleep apnea.

I wonder if this study is missing some quite big issues here.

"unintentional napping"

I used to 'unintentionally nap' all the time since I was a teen.

Then I discovered I had sleep apnea. No more napping. And dementia has been linked to sleep apnea.

I wonder if this study is missing some quite big issues here.

First-hand experience that raises a plausible confounder, sleep apnea, for the link between unintentional napping and dementia.

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reedf1 2026-11-02 15:505/10questionfirst_hand | prev | next [–]

I am a frequent intentional napper (< 30 minutes). Am I right in reading that I am at baseline risk?

I am a frequent intentional napper (< 30 minutes). Am I right in reading that I am at baseline risk?

A real question from the commenter's own experience about how the study's findings apply to short, intentional naps.

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I think we need to understand what intentional vs unintentional napping is.

I think we need to understand what intentional vs unintentional napping is.

A fair, if brief, point that the parent's question depends on how the study defines intentional versus unintentional napping.

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dapper_quail71 2026-11-02 16:13 | rewritten3/10low_effort | original | root | parent [–]

I'd read the terms this way:

"I'm going to go take a nap in bed." (intentional)

vs

"I fell asleep in a chair." (unintentional)

original comment by Carrok

Is this not clear from the term?

"I'm going to go take a nap in bed."

vs

"I fell asleep in a chair."

Removed the dismissive rhetorical question and kept the commenter's concrete examples of the distinction.

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No, we need to know how the study defined them, not how you interpret them.

In medicine, sometimes semantics are more important than you think.

No, we need to know how the study defined them, not how you interpret them.

In medicine, sometimes semantics are more important than you think.

A blunt but fair point that the study's operational definitions matter more than everyday meanings of the terms.

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Yet I intentionally nap in the chair when I become overcome with lassitude

Yet I intentionally nap in the chair when I become overcome with lassitude

A brief, good-faith counterexample: the commenter naps in a chair on purpose, so where you sleep doesn't show whether the nap was intended.

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IncreasePosts 2026-11-02 17:02 | removed0/10jokelow_effort | root | parent [–]

Where do you nap when overcome with langour or ennui?

Where do you nap when overcome with langour or ennui?

A wordplay joke on the parent's vocabulary with no substantive content.

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thisisauserid 2026-11-02 15:55 | removed0/10low_effortsnark | parent | prev [–]

See what I mean?

See what I mean?

A vague jab that points back to an earlier comment and adds nothing on its own.

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I'd guess this goes back to not getting enough healthy sleep, which is a reason people nap.

I'd guess this goes back to not getting enough healthy sleep, which is a reason people nap.

A short but real hypothesis: poor sleep could explain both the napping and the dementia risk.

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[deleted]

Except intentional napping, which could be "yawn, I slept bad last night; I'm gonna go take a nap" is not a risk.

Except intentional napping, which could be "yawn, I slept bad last night; I'm gonna go take a nap" is not a risk.

A blunt but substantive point: it separates intentional napping, which the commenter says isn't a risk, from other napping.

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[deleted]
sunny_oriole44 2026-11-02 16:47 | rewritten3/10low_effortquestion | original | prev | next [–]

Could sleep apnea explain this? It might be a common cause of both the napping and the dementia risk.

original comment by tt24

Sleep apnea.

The two-word reply hints at a real confounder, so it was expanded slightly into the question it implies.

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disclaimer: I didn't read TFA

drive-by comment: unintentional napping seems likely to occur more in those failing to get actual restful sleep on the regular. Don't we already know chronic sleep deprivation correlates with dementia/alzheimers risk?

disclaimer: I didn't read TFA

drive-by comment: unintentional napping seems likely to occur more in those failing to get actual restful sleep on the regular. Don't we already know chronic sleep deprivation correlates with dementia/alzheimers risk?

Raises a fair question in good faith: could poor sleep be a confounder, since sleep deprivation is already linked to dementia risk?

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