Oh, how I miss the days of kindergarten. The days where I was allowed to take a nap. In fact, it was forced upon us. We had to do it, and as I recall most of us hated it. We’d rather be at recess. Now, as adults we yearn to go back to the days of napping. I can’t even imagine how happy my co-workers and I would be if our boss decided to make one-hour daily naps mandatory. Now that would be a nice perk.
According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, 34% of adults in the United States are taking naps on any given day. Men nap more than women. People aged 80 and older nap more than any other age range. Blacks nap more than whites and Hispanics, and people who make less than $30,000 a year nap more than any other salary range. Interesting demographics. When you look at the numbers closely though, they are pretty even and level throughout each range of data.
There are no numbers that really stand out, except for the age range demographic where the older senior citizens take part in naps more than any other age range. But I think it’s pretty easy to figure out why – they’ve got a little more time on their hands. What this shows to me is that naps are a common bond that we all share. We’re all trying to sneak a little shut-eye at some point during the day.
Napping helps with cell repair, and it keeps your brain activity at a high level throughout the day.
Do you know you could actually benefit from taking a nap?
What I’d be curious to know is how long the naps are that these people are taking. Is it basically just closing your eyes for a few minutes here or there, or is it a full one hour nap on their beds? I know that when I take the right kind of nap it can be refreshing, decrease my stress level and even increase my productivity. But what else can napping do?
According to scientists and their research, a power nap can benefit your brain, heart and hormonal maintenance. Napping helps with cell repair, and it keeps your brain activity at a high level throughout the day. In a study completed by NASA, they found that napping can increase an individual’s memory skill.
So how do you take the right kind of nap, a power nap, in order to get these beneficial results? Your nap needs to complete the first two stages of a regular sleep cycle. The first being the relaxation and steady, slow breathing stage which is called drowsiness, and the second being the light sleep stage where your body temperature increases, your heart beat slows down and eyes stops moving. Your naps should last about 20 minutes. If it goes any longer than this, you will reach other stages of the sleeping cycle, and it can end up making you drowsier rather than alert. Studies show that cognitive skills are just as powerful after a 20-minute nap as after a good night’s rest. So be sure to sneak in a power nap into your day today. Tell your boss it will make you work harder once you wake up.
Photo by Ateo Fiel/ Nathan McCurley
