0380 Associations Between Daytime Napping and Sleep Quality in Taiwanese Adults: A National Representative Survey

Abstract Introduction Napping practices vary across cultures. Western societies often view naps negatively, whereas Asian and Mediterranean cultures regard them as beneficial for health. Given this cultural context, we examined the associations of napping characteristics and sleep quality among adults in Taiwan. Methods We studied 1,596 adults aged 18 and older who participated in the nationally representative 2021 Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS). Participants were asked to report the duration of their naps and to rate their sleep quality. We categorized participants as non-nappers and nappers and further classified nappers by short (≤ 60 minutes) or long (> 60 minutes) nap duration. We dichotomized sleep quality as poor (very bad) vs. better (very good, fairly good, fairly bad), with the “better” category as the reference. We used logistic regression models to examine odds ratio (OR) of poor sleep quality by napping duration, adjusting for sociodemographic, socioeconomic, health, and health behaviors. Results Approximately half of Taiwanese adults (51.2%) did not nap, 39.3% were short nappers (≤ 60 minutes), and 9.5% were long nappers (>60 minutes). Nappers were more likely to be older, male, married, and live in rural areas, with lower income and education. Although nappers reported more positive health behaviors (e.g., regular exercise and less smoking or binge drinking), they had poorer physical health, reflected by more chronic conditions and lower 12-item Short-Form Health Survey physical component and self-rated health scores. After adjusting for sociodemographic, socioeconomic, health, and health behaviors, short nappers were significantly less likely than non-nappers to have poor sleep quality (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.35–0.87). There were no significant differences in sleep quality comparing long nappers to non-nappers (OR = 0.81, 95 % CI = 0.42–1.55). Conclusion In Taiwan, napping is widely practiced, and short naps may be linked to improved sleep quality in this context. This suggests that when examining napping and its association with health outcomes, cultural context matters and may lead to different public health messages across populations. Support (if any) This work was supported by the Taiwan National Science and Technology Council (NSTC 114-2813-C-038-097-B).