Power Nap: Benefits, Duration, and Best Times
Do you remember your parents’ big attempts to force you to sleep during the afternoon which you would resist with all your power when you were a kid? And now that you have become a responsible adult who deals with life’s difficulties and pressures, you have started trying as much as possible to save some time for a short nap.
“Sleep, for the devils do not sleep,” said The Messenger of God, Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. However, have we ever asked why he recommended it? Is it good for the body? And what can it grant us?
What is a nap?
A nap is sleeping during the day or resting and relaxing for a small or limited period of time midday even if sleep is not involved. It is a small duration of time to relax the mind and regain energy. There are many conflicting opinions about it. There are those who appreciate it and consider it to be something essential that must be done so that they can continue to work actively and effectively, while others may view it as something for lazy and unproductive people because it is usually accompanied with laziness and heaviness.
Within the same context, doctors believe that naps are a physiological necessity for children up to four years old, as they are a biological necessity for adults; however, research has proven that sleeping during the day benefits the body and mind because it improves focus and intellectual activity. It also represents energy for the body, regulates its work cycle, and increases its productivity. There are three types of naps. A long nap which lasts longer than thirty minutes, a moderate nap which lasts between five and thirty minutes, and a quick nap which is a quick snooze that doesn’t last longer than five minutes.
What is the right time for a power nap?
Most studies about the topic of naps emphasize that the best duration for a nap is between fifteen to twenty minutes. This is because there is almost unanimity that the longer the duration of the nap, the more staggering and confused the person when they wake up. It is preferred that the nap is taken during the afternoon so that nighttime sleep is not affected by it. It is also important that it is taken into consideration that choosing a specific time for a nap has many factors, such as the kind of job a person has, the actual need of the body for relaxation, age, and the type of medication (if any) that the person takes.
We must not forget that in order to have a relaxing nap, we should find a quiet place that is the right temperature for the body and the least amount of noise and interruptions possible. When you wake up, take your time before you start doing any activity. However, the best time for a nap is between 2 and 3 pm, so during the afternoon, and for children, the right duration of time for a nap during the day is between thirty to ninety minutes, and the best time is after lunch.
What are the positive effects of a power nap?
Naps often give positive results for most people, which is contrary to the mainstream idea that it is only for children, as studies have proven how important naps are for adults as well. Naps provide a number of advantages, including:
1. Relaxation:
It is the state of feeling comfortable, calm, and reduction of stress and psychological pressures, whether they are family or work related pressures that affect the person negatively. Relaxation improves mood by lowering stress hormones and reducing anger and frustration, along with reducing fatigue, muscle tension, improving digestive system functions, and keeping the sugar levels in the blood in their natural range.
2. Increased alertness and focus:
Due to pressures that fall upon a person, they reach a point of lack of focus on the things that they do during the day, which makes completing tasks really difficult; however, getting some rest by taking a nap can help us regain our focus and communication with our body and feelings.
3. Improved performance:
A nap provides the person with the ability to remember the actions they have just done, and it helps the mind find connections that bring it all together. It also identifies missing work which is needed to complete these actions successfully. Naps also help keep the person stable, as working for long continuous hours can make a person feel tired, bored, and impatient; however, getting rest during the afternoon can help maintain patience and stability in order for work to be done in the best way possible.
4. Improved memory:
There is no doubt that everyone knows the importance of sleep for improving long term memory. The same goes for day naps, as they help with recalling things that have been learned during the day in order to improve perception, verbal remembrance, and the memory in general.
5. Promoting creativity:
The right hemisphere of the human brain, which is responsible for imagination and creativity, becomes more active during the duration of the nap; whereas the left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for learning, speaking, language, and memory, rests during this period and stops working, and when you wake up, it goes back to its function and starts working more effectively.
6. Enhancing education:
Naps work on improving learning skills and increasing focus and attention. It also enhances the memory’s ability to retain more information for longer periods of time within the right context. Many studies have shown that the percentage of comprehension and memorization increases after a nap.
7. Improved mood:
Naps improve the energy levels in the body, reduces fatigue, and makes you more positive, which in turn improves your mood.
8. Weight loss:
Doctors in Harvard University have found that while napping, a person can burn 10% more calories when compared to what they can burn during the morning.
9. For children:
Naps have many advantages. They stimulate brain activity, which improves learning, gaining skills, retaining learned information for longer periods of time and connecting them within a structured context that makes it easier to recall when needed.
What are the disadvantages of napping?
- Laziness: When you wake up from a nap, especially a long nap, you may feel uncomfortable, lightheaded, lazy, and more sleepy.
- Long naps increase the risk of type II diabetes.
- The negative effect it has on night’s sleep: Naps affect sleep cycles. In case the person suffers from insomnia and stress, naps make it worse. Long naps also contradict night’s sleep, whereas stable naps do not have any negative effects on it.
- Prolonged naps lead to weakened cognitive and comprehensive functions of the human brain.
- Naps could usually indicate that a person has health issues. If you suddenly feel like you need a nap without there being a reason for it, such as mental or muscular stress or any change in your lifestyle, this means that you need to see a doctor to find out the reason and make sure that everything in your body is alright.
What are the conditions for a perfect nap?
1. Time management:
Organize what you need to do during the day and set time for it in a way that allows you to get rest and take a nap in order to reduce fatigue and regain your energy.
2. Balanced diet:
You must not have coffee, tea, or other beverages that contain a large percentage of caffeine and cause insomnia or stress. This is why it is recommended that you only have one cup of any one of these beverages after breakfast. It is also preferable that you stay away from both passive and active kinds of smoking because of its many risks not only on naps and rest while sleeping, but on all of your organs as well.
3. Reducing the percentage of fats in your food:
Fats cause an increase in uneasiness in the body and prevent you from having good sleep.
4. Napping in a suitable place:
Away from annoying lights, noises, and anything that may cause stress and anxiety.
5. Relying on short naps:
The naps which range between 10 to 20 minutes lower the risk of heart and cardiovascular diseases; however, if the nap exceeds that limit, it will lead to a higher risk of getting these diseases.
In conclusion:
Sleep is one of the sacred habits of a large group of people, and its traditions vary from one person to another. Every person wakes and sleeps at different times. This goes down to a large group of factors, such as age, type of job, whether they are healthy or suffer from illnesses, whether or not they take medications, and other factors; however, it can be said that there is a consensus about how important sleep is for a period of time during the day which is called “nap”.
When we ask people about naps, we get a statement from the majority that it is an important necessity that has entered their daily schedule to the point that it has become a routine habit that many hold onto due to what it provides the body with, from recharging the body’s energy that allows it to go through its functions and achieve them during the rest of the day, to putting an end to stress or reducing it, improving the mood, feeling more comfortable and happy, and motivating you to work with energy and liveliness; thus, it is the healthy and perfect way to maintain the health of the mind and body together.