Naps and exercise: reinforcing a range of benefits for elderly health

ABSTRACT

According to the United Nations, in 2017, people aged 60 or over in the world, comprised 13 per cent of the global population. It is a fact that elderly people are keeping a health lifestyle, such as practicing physical exercises and avoiding excessive dosages of medications. However, this population is also more prone to have injuries while practicing exercises. Sleep architecture is physiologically different among elderly, and naps can be very beneficial to improve their mental and physical health. Thus, in this article, we encourage health professionals to recommend regular naps to this population, which could lead to an improve in their well-being and quality of life.

KEYWORDS:

• Sleep
• elderly
• naps and exercise

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Our studies have been financially supported by the Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa (AFIP). MLA and ST are recipients of CNPq fellowships.