Take Nap

Description

Brief daytime sleeping can provide you with cognitive and mental health benefits.

Benefits

• Increases cognitive performance and alertness
• Improves mood
• Reduces the risk of cardiovascular dysfunction

Why it works

• Studies have shown that daytime napping increases an individual’s daily total sleep time, without drowsiness (1). By increasing their time asleep, individuals were able to be more rested, reducing sleepiness and fatigue and leaving them more alert and better able to perform tasks (2,3).
• Research has shown that napping results in improved mood and behavior as sleepiness and fatigue are reduced, and older people garner as much benefit as younger people (2). Napping also may decrease cortisol during sleep (4).
• Epidemiological studies suggest that short naps, taken several times a week, reduce the risk of cardiovascular dysfunction (5). Studies show that a lack of sleep may be associated with the production of proinflammatory cytokines the next day. These cytokines may increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular events occurring (6), so napping helps to avoid this risk.

Side Effects

• Naps may make sleep problems worse for those who have insomnia, finding it harder to sleep at night time and reducing their total sleep time. Eliminating naps from your sleep schedule should solve this.
• Some people may find they suffer from sleep inertia, grogginess, or disorientation, after waking from a nap. This may be because your nap was too long, or you are still getting used to sleeping during the day.
• There is research that repeat, daytime naps exceeding 1 hour may increase your risk of diabetes (7). It’s therefore important to talk to your doctor about implementing a regular napping schedule if you are at risk for diabetes.

Gurus/Celebrities/Doing it

Dorinda Medley

Albert Einstein

Suggested Time of Day

Anytime out of your regular nighttime sleep schedule, but mid-afternoon is popular as your performance and alertness declines during the day.