With tiredness typically comes irritability, so when you take the time to recharge, you can effectively turn your mood and day around. Ready for a nap? Mastering the art of the power nap takes a little bit of know-how and a healthy dose of practice.
Follow these four tips to optimize your best nap time. Stick to the two recommended nap lengths: 20 minutes or 90 minutes. This will better ensure that you stay within the recommended nap lengths. Be sure to consider how long it takes you to fall asleep and factor that into your alarm setting. Longer naps, especially after 3 p. One of the hardest parts of napping can be falling asleep.
If you have trouble dozing off , consider using a weighted blanket or cozying up somewhere cool and comfy that makes it easy to drift off into dreamland. You may also consider practicing mindfulness techniques or applying balms or essential oil blends for sleep.
A slew of recent studies have shown that naps boost alertness, creativity, mood, and productivity in the later hours of the day. A nap of 60 minutes improves alertness for up to 10 hours. One Harvard study published last year showed that a minute nap improves learning and memory. Napping reduces stress and lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke, diabetes, and excessive weight gain. Getting even the briefest nap is better than nothing.
And last year, a British study suggested that just knowing a nap was coming was enough to lower blood pressure. Naps make you brainier, healthier, safer. But to understand how you can nap best, you need to understand your body.
In designing the optimal nap you need to grasp its potential components. When you go into deeper sleep, your brain becomes less responsive to external stimuli, making it harder to wake up and increasing the likelihood of grogginess and fatigue. The health benefits of napping have been scientifically proven. Various studies have found that daytime naps ranging from 10 to 30 minutes can increase performance and make you more productive at work.
Naps have been shown to improve:. Based on various studies, napping during the day can improve your learning skills. Not only does napping improve your focus and memory, which can help you learn and retain information, but studies have also found that ability to learn new information is enhanced immediately after a nap. The benefits of napping on learning begin early on.
A study found that napping improved word learning in infants. New research shows that a midday nap can significantly lower blood pressure. The study found that on average, naps lowered blood pressure by 5 mm Hg. This is also comparable to taking a low-dose blood pressure medication, which usually lowers blood pressure 5 to 7 mm Hg. Just a 2 mm Hg drop in blood pressure can reduce your risk of a heart attack by as much as 10 percent. Napping during the day can improve your mood. Short naps boost energy levels and help get you over the afternoon slump.
While napping has been shown to offer numerous health benefits, it can produce side effects and even have negative consequences for your health when not timed properly or if you have certain underlying conditions.
Naps that exceed 20 minutes can increase sleep inertia, which leaves you feeling groggy and disoriented. This happens when you awake from a deep sleep.
This is even worse for people with insomnia who already have trouble sleeping at night. A comfortable, dark room can help you nap if you have access to one. Hopefully this information helps you answer the age-old question: how long should I nap? Having a regular napping schedule may not only help you feel energized, but may have health benefits too. Regular naps reduce stress and may decrease your risk of heart disease.
That 20 minutes looking for your cup of coffee could be spent napping, giving you the energy to finish out your day. I find as I get older I need naps more. Notify me of new posts by email. How Long Should I Nap? Regular Napping Hopefully this information helps you answer the age-old question: how long should I nap?
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