I never appreciated naptime enough as a kid. And by the time I realized that a good long nap is just about the greatest thing ever, I was far past the age where a designated nap time was being given to me. But there is still lots of compelling evidence that you should try to fit a quick catnap into your daily schedule. There are so many amazing benefits that come from getting in even just a few winks during your day.
I’ve pulled together the top 5 reasons why you should include naptime in your daily routine:
Increases alertness
Taking a nap is kind of like rebooting your brain. With just a 10-20 minute nap, you can wake up refreshed and ready to get at your day again. If your eyelids are feeling heavy during the afternoon, reach for your covers rather than a cup of coffee. Taking a quick nap has been proven to be more effective than caffeine at waking you up during the day.
Improves health
Sleep is particularly good for the heart, reducing your risk of heart-related diseases and conditions, as well as boosting your immune system. And the notion of “beauty sleep” isn’t just something that people who love to snooze made up. Sleep has a significant positive effect on your physical appearance.
Heightens creativity, decision-making, and concentration
Struggling to finish that big essay? Take a nap and then when you wake up, take another stab at it. As previously mentioned, sleep is like rebooting your brain, so you can come at your work with a different perspective and with a renewed sense of focus and confidence.
Reduces stress
No doubt you’ve experienced stress before in your life: You’re likely experiencing it even at this moment as exam season fast approaches. Not only does sleeping allow you to escape into a dreamworld free of stress, it also lowers your blood pressure and eliminates those pesky stress hormones. Slip a nap into your day to ease the burden of that pesky to-do list
Improves memory retention and prevents burnout
University students are infamous for staying up until ungodly hours of the night or pulling all-nighters to cram for tests or midterms the next day. Well I hate to break it to you if you’re one of these bold individuals, but sleep deprivation has a powerfully negative effect on your ability to remember information during testing situations. By getting a good night’s sleep, the things you’ve learned are able to settle in your brain and actually stick so that you can remember them as you’re writing that test. But if you’re still choosing a full night of studying over a full night’s sleep, make sure to fit a nap in during the day to catch up on your sleep cycle.
Now, napping is truly an art. We’ve all had that 3 hour nap that was only supposed to be 30 minutes, where you wake up groggy and even more exhausted than before. You need to know how to maximize the benefits of your nap so that you can wake up energized and ready to go again.
- Time your nap so it takes place about 6-7 hours after you wake up for the day. If it takes too much effort to figure out that math problem, a good rule of thumb is sometime between 1-3 pm.
- A 10-20 minute power nap is short enough to leave you refreshed upon waking as it doesn’t take you into deep sleep.
- Taking a 60 minute nap is good for memory boosting, although you may experience some grogginess upon waking.
- A 90 minute nap will take you through a full sleep cycle. This length of time is perfect for people who struggle to sleep at night.
- Make sure you’re warm, as your body temperature drops as you sleep.
- Close the blinds or grab a sleep mask to fall asleep faster.
Basically, don’t sleep on sleep! Work a nap into your afternoon following these tips, and you might be surprised by an improvement in your physical health and your academic performance.
Photo 1: Photo by Burst
Photo 2: Photo by Pixabay
Photo 3: Photo by Pixabay