7 Big Time Benefits of Power Naps
We all need a little nap during the working days, that’s long enough to get us through the day, but not so long that it makes us feel groggy or insomniac at night. Don’t we? But have you ever wondered why a Power Nap is so important? A power nap can help boost your memory, creativity skills, cognitive skills, and energies your body. Many people tend to substitute by having a cup of coffee or an energy drink, but these are only helping you momentarily, they are not as healthy and can cause your body to deteriorate faster. A short 20 to 30 minutes midday sleep session on the other hand help your body to fight with fatigue, keeps you well rested, and increases your overall health quotient. Here are the seven big time benefits of power naps:
- Power naps elevate your mood
It is not backed by science that a good short nap during the day time has a feel-good effect on the body. Regular napping systematically improves your mental health and cognitive abilities. For the elderly, power napping can reduce the frustration levels and curb confusion, since it has the capability to increase the reaction & coordination time in adults.
- Power naps boost your immunity & reduce stress
Aside from lifting up your mood, it has been proven that napping actually helps boost the immune system of your body, and reduces your overall stress. It reverses the ill-effects of a poor sleep in the previous night and helps your body to restore its immunity strength levels to optimum rates. A better immunity is not just related to your diet, it is also related to your lifestyle and overall stress quotient. A healthy mind leads to a healthy body and that’s why it is extremely important to give your body some rest & reenergizing that it needs.
- Power naps help prevent cell damage
We often overlook the kind of damage that usually occurs when we become insomnia or sleep deprived. Not only do we start losing focus, we tend to become easily irritated by small things, affecting our body all the way down to the cellular level, leading to cell damage. Many research studies have concluded that a lack of sleep can cause cells to get damaged, especially in the lungs, liver, and even the small intestine. Any kind of cell damage is not good for us, and it naturally increases our risk of getting caught up with diseases. Studies also suggest that such damage can be recovered progressively if the body starts getting a good amount sleep.
- Power naps are healthy for the heart
Taking daily naps can actually help you in reducing your blood pressure level and keeping it within the optimum range. Power naps can allow you to reduce the reliance on medicines for the heart, and heal your heart naturally. Many researchers suggest that people who take power naps during the day experience a lowered blood pressure, resulting to a lesser damage from high blood pressure in the heart and the arteries. Interestingly, just the notion or the expectation of having a midday nap can literally lower down your blood pressure. It is directly related to the fact that you are already anticipating getting some rest, and it reduces your stress quotient as well. This further reduces your anxiety and lowers down the blood pressure level as well. Take a nap daily for a healthier and happier heart!
- Power naps improve your memory & brain functions
Many extensive researches have already made studying the impact of power naps for their impact on a person’s memory and learning capacities. It turns out that the correlation is relevant and highly positive. Regardless of the age, short naps spanning from 10 to 15 minutes can boost up your alertness, promote wakefulness, and heighten your learning abilities. Not only that, a midday nap of about half an hour daily can increase your overall mortality or life expectancy. Who knew sleeping more can actually help us live longer, so take that & follow it for what it’s worth. A rested brain has a better capacity and productivity, thereby enhancing your memory and sharpness – making you more creative and alert. Our brain functions continuously throughout the day, and a good short sleep during the day helps it relax and rejuvenate.
- Power naps help you become more productive
We have learned how a nap can help us reduce the anxiety, lower down blood pressure, improve brain functions, enhance creativity, strengthen the immunity, and much more. All of these attribute to the way we work and carry out daily tasks. A well rested and healthier body is always more productive that the one which is fatigued, stressed, and deprived. Gone are the days when napping during the day was considered as being lazy, it is now well recognized and encouraged. A higher level of productivity means that you can carry out the same task at a much lower turn-around time, and hence, allow you more time for other things. Regardless of whether you are a working professional or a stay at home mom/ dad, power naps help you finish tasks on time, and open up newer avenues to spend time on.
- Power Naps help you lose weight
Yes!
No Kidding!
It is scientifically proven that people who are tired & sleep deprived tend to eat unhealthy and fatty foods. This is because they feel like they are low on energy and they need some good calorie intake to recharge the body – which is not quite good. You are already low on energy and eating fatty foods can be a little exercise for the body to digest properly, leading to storage of extra fat in the body or obesity. A refreshed and energized body responds well in terms of digestion and thus, you don’t really feel the need to eat something heavy.
So, set the timers, take your naps, and of course don’t over-do it!
Author: Ravi Kumarr Gupta
thanks to this article. Your blog is really excellent and worth a read.