Top 10 Health Benefits of Napping

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Have you ever wondered why you doze off during the noon hours? It is simply because your body is naturally tuned in to take breaks in between and recharge yourself with small naps and snoozes. Although it does sound impractical, studies have shown that when people are put in an environment without any track of time, they tend to go to sleep for long hours even during the daytime.

Even though the fast-paced modern life has robbed you of the refreshing experience that a daytime nap offers, your body still yearns for it. Have you ever observed mammals in their natural settings? Most of them keep on having short/long sleeping sessions all through the day.  The same applies to humans as well.

It is not possible to get all the sleep your body needs in the night, which is why sometime in the day you start yawning and feel like going into a deep slumber. Many of us feel guilty for sleeping in the afternoon on weekends or Sundays. You do not have to! You certainly need a good night’s sleep, but a nap of 20 to 30 minutes in the daytime can buoy you up and increase the performance level of your mind and body.  

There are many more health benefits of napping. Here are the top 10 for you:

1. Boosts Memory

A study was conducted on nappers who regularly took a nap of 10/20/30 minutes in the daytime. Based on the cognitive tests of vigilance and memory, the researchers stated that there was a considerable improvement in the performance level of the participants. Although those who slept for more than 20 minutes felt a bit groggy, the other participants taking a nap for 10 to 20 minutes showed immediate improvement in their memory, working and learning skills.

Napping has also been found to improve your capacity to focus on complex tasks and complete them faster and with great success. It also improves memory retention.

2. Lifts Up Your Spirits

Do you start feeling restless and bored as the day progresses? If you are yawning and feeling distracted in the midst of the day, it means your body is in need of a sleeping break. Lack of sleep can suddenly turn you into a zombie, irritating and scowling at a drop of a hat.

If you have been overreacting to even smaller problems, turning them into tremendous issues, then napping for a short time during the day can make a big difference. A 20 minutes nap boosts your mood, makes you cheerful and positive so that you are ready to tackle the deadliest of the problem with gusto.

3. Improves Alertness

When your body slows down and eyelids become heavy, you cannot perform work to the best of your ability. It is an indication that your body is asking for rest. If possible, just drop everything in hand and take a short nap. To ensure that you do not go into a long slumber set an alarm after 20 minutes.  You will feel happier to start the work again. Not convinced?

Here is what the latest NASA study says. According to a study conducted by NASA, a nap of 40 minutes increases alertness by 40%. Increased alertness ensures better performance, quality use of time at hand and fewer errors.  

Another study says a short nap is much more effective than a cup of coffee or an intensive exercise bout. A report from the National Sleep Foundation states that when astronauts and military pilots were made to take a nap for 40-minutes, 34 percent showed improvement in performance whereas 100 percent reported improvement in alertness.

Based on this and several other studies the Foundation recommends a quick nap for 20 minutes before driving to cut down on accidents due to drowsiness or sleepiness.

4. Prevents Burnout

Napping increases productivity. If you keep on working nonstop without taking a break, it may lead to burnout and you will feel exhausted right at the moment when you are expected to deliver your best. Health experts say that taking a power nap just before an important meeting is just like restarting your computer. However, longer naps can leave you confused and foggy and will make it difficult for you to bounce back. So, keep your naptime short.

5. Lowers High Blood Pressure

Siesta is quite common between the Spanish. The Journal of Applied Physiology too supports the siesta habit and says that it reduces coronary mortality by 37 percent. Daytime stress is the main cause of cardiovascular problems. When you sleep during the daytime the stress automatically reduces thereby lowering the chances of cardiovascular ailments. Although it is true that a short nap alone is not the only way of controlling cardiovascular health conditions, it certainly can contribute in your effort to minimize stress on the heart by lowering blood pressure.

6. Increases Libido

When you are exhausted, your testosterone levels drop and you do not feel like having sex. It happens more with women than men who have to take care of both the home and office. To avoid feeling cranky at the end of the day, try to find time for a short nap in the afternoon. Even a catnap of 15 minutes will make you feel refreshed and invigorated enough to get in the right mood for romance.

7. Psychological Benefits

Napping also rewards you with psychological benefits. You can treat your naptime as a mini-vacation or a luxury that provides you with instant rejuvenation and relaxation. The National Sleep Foundation states that one of the biggest health benefits of napping is that it reduces cortisol levels, causing stress -related diseases such as diabetes, stroke and hypertension. The lowering of stress levels has a positive effect on your overall health.

For example, lower cortisol levels lead to improvement in cognitive performance, improved immune system and heart health.

8. Increases Creative Thinking

James Mass and Rebecca Robbins, the co-founders of Sleep for Success support the concept of having a nap in the daytime. A report published by them in The New York Times says that napping enhances creative thinking, clears out cobwebs and improves memory recall.

Sara C. Mednick, a napologist or a nap scientist states that napping improves sensory perception just as a good night’s sleep does. It means you feel more brighter, happy and ready to take on the world after a short nap. Napping loosens up the concepts and ideas in your mind and lets the creativity and insights within you flow out more clearly.

9. Keeps You Calm

A recent study by the University of Berkeley says that a power nap of 90 minutes keeps your nerves under control and calm. The neurotransmitter serotonin placed within your brain regulates appetites, sleep and mood and produces a feeling of well- being and contentment. When you are stressed due to lack of sleep or other life issues, the serotonin is produced in excess, thereby causing the body to block its production. However, napping reverses the stressful effect and makes your mind more positive by controlling the release of serotonin.

Recommended: Here’s How You Can Have Better Sleep At Night

10. Good for Overall Health and Well being

Sleep deprivation causes production of excess of cortisol hormone in the body, leading to glucose intolerance, abdominal fat, weakening of immune and muscular systems, decreased testosterone levels and growth hormones, and more. It automatically leads to deleterious effects.

Thus, the health benefits of napping are unlimited and improve your overall health and working of the body system.