When I was a little girl, my mother would try daily to get me to take a nap in the afternoon. I was an active child and laying down to be quiet and sleep was not in my nature. She would lie down with me and wished I would fall asleep. What happened was my mother would fall asleep and I would lay there wide-awake having conversations with my imaginary friends. Later, when I began school, there were mandatory afternoon nap times. More than once I found myself in trouble for talking, playing, and keeping other children from napping. As I grew older, naps were not on my agenda. My mind was too active, and I didn’t see the point, I had too much to do and I wasn’t tired. I rarely would take a nap and for those I can account for as being up too many hours, jet lag, or illness. Naps were just not for me! In recent years I have found that I now look forward to a quick nap. I have found many benefits and reasons for them and find renewed energy when I allow myself to indulge.
Many cultures around the globe embrace napping. The Spanish Siesta, Japanese Inemuri, and Italy Risposo to name a few. The United States though has not incorporated regular naptime into their culture. In a 2018 government study on the impact of frequent napping and nap practice, only about half of adults (47%) napped regularly despite the known benefits.
Perhaps you have always enjoyed restful naps, and if so, it may surprise you how many benefits it brings. For those of you who have been reluctant, I hope the following information will help you see the many advantages of naptime.
Why Nap?
While the American culture has encouraged afternoon naps for children, it has frowned on adult napping despite afternoon drowsiness and lack of sleep. But research shows that napping can bring benefits of reduced fatigue and stress, increased alertness, improved mood, performance, better memory, and health. Studies have shown that sleep plays an important role with our creativity, storing memories and learning. Napping helps with motor skills, verbal recall, and sensory perception. Taking a nap can also help your heart as a study found that people who napped for 45 to 60 minutes had lower blood pressure after undergoing mental stress.
As odd as it may sound, napping during the day can help older adults with improved sleep at night. Studies have shown combining mild exercise with a 30 minute nap in the afternoon helps to improve nighttime sleep.
When to Nap?
Examples of when you may want to consider a nap is when you are experiencing sleep loss due to work schedules, having fatigue or sleepiness or just want to add to your daily routine for health benefits. A 10-to-20-minute nap can give you benefits for your brain and motor skills. Longer naps can leave some individuals feeling groggy afterward. Timing can be important, and some say sleep is better between 2 and 3 pm as this is when we have a natural tendency to be tired. But times vary by individual based on your schedule, age, medication use and if you are well-rested or behind on sleep. Napping can also interfere with nighttime sleep if you are sleeping too close to bedtime.
Effects Of Sleep Deficit
Have you noticed that if you lose sleep one day, you will feel it the next? It builds up a sleep deficit that can impair our daily functions. When we become fatigued, we can become more stress and moody. We can also have impaired judgement, reaction time, difficulty processing information and short-term memory. Getting enough sleep is important and enough varies with age. Sleep can help our immune system and regulating body weight. Studies have linked not having enough sleep to increased risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.
Tips For Napping
To get the health benefits that come from getting more sleep, you can set the stage for successfully napping and sleeping at night.
- Create the right environment. Go for a place that is comfortable, quiet and without distractions.
- If you are looking to have a regular nap schedule, then be consistent with your time.
- Have a blanket close by if needed as your body temperature drops when sleeping.
- Set an alarm if you don’t want to sleep too long and feel groggy.
- If you are not used to sleeping in the day, make the room dark or wear a mask to block light.
- Have a white noise machine or soft music.
- Try meditation to help ease yourself into sleep.
- Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, and let your mind slow and your body relax.
To help you with a meditative relaxation program you can follow these steps:
- Relax the muscles in your face by releasing all tension in your jaw, forehead and around the eyes.
- Relax your body as you drop your shoulders as low as you can. Relax your neck and upper arms.
- Breathe in deeply and breathe out slowly. Relax your body starting from the upper body to your lower body, imagining each part of the body releasing any tension.
- Clear your mind of all thoughts. Try to visualize a happy memory or place.
This may help you get relaxed mentally and physically, so that you fall asleep in no time.
Happy Napping!
