A new study published in the Sleep Health found a modest causal link between habitual napping and larger total brain volume1. 

Researchers pulled data from UK Biobank2—an expansive dataset of over 500,000 adults that range from 40-69 years of age. Using a method called Mendelian randomization, or MR, they analyzed the association between biobank participants’ daytime napping habits and their brain markers such as hippocampal volume, reaction time, visual memory, and total brain volume.

They found that people who reported taking naps during the day tended to have increased brain volume.

Brain volume sounds a little abstract, but it’s essential to overall brain health. (According to one 2016 study, a higher total brain volume is associated with a reduced risk of mortality3.)