Anybody who knows me knows I love to sleep. If I don't get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, I feel somewhat dysfunctional, especially during the school year when I am a full-time studier, part-time barista, part-time-off campus student (trust me, cooking and cleaning can be strenuous tasks) and part-time average human trying to enjoy life's simpler pleasures, such as reading, painting, writing, watching movies, and so on. Before my afternoon classes, I take pleasure in "power naps," usually ranging from 15 to 20 minutes so I can reenergize and stay focused without the pain of a caffeine crash at 3:00 p.m. I don't know who I would be without my naps, and I hope the following list inspires you to feel guiltless about daytime napping, too.
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1. It is not certain our normal sleep pattern (sleeping for a large period of time and staying awake for the rest of the day) is/ has always been a part of our human nature.
Some people argue that instead of eating 3 large meals per day, we should instead run on snacks every couple of hours; the same argument can be applied to sleeping. While most people nowadays sleep for about 6-8 hours per night (on average), it is unclear as to whether or not this type of sleeping pattern has always been in our nature.
2. Naps do not make up for lack of sleep.
While I wish a 20-minute nap at 2:00 p.m. could make up for lack of sleep the night before, naps do not and should not work the same way. On average, seven to eight hours of sleep per night is considered a healthy amount of sleep for most college students; anything under or over could potentially lead to heart disease.
3. A “power nap” between 20 and 30 minutes can improve one’s mood, productivity and awareness.
According to sleepfoundation.org, “Naps can restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%.”
4. There are three types of naps: habitual napping, planned napping and emergency napping.
Habitual napping is the act of napping around the same time every day, like children at Day Care. Planned napping is a nap that you actively plan ahead of time to avoid mid-day drowsiness before it comes (this is my preferred type of nap). Finally, emergency napping is the nap you need to take when you start to feel your eyelids drooping while you're studying 30 minutes before your British Literature exam. Sometimes, a quick emergency nap is better than forcing yourself to study before an afternoon exam; refer to numbers three and seven.
5. For some people, however, naps that last over 20 minutes can be counterproductive.
These longer naps can make it difficult for someone to reenergize, completely defeating the purpose of a nap. Naps that last over 30 minutes almost always have this effect.
6. Napping helps the brain relax.
“Napping has psychological benefits. A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation. It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation” (Sleep Foundation).”
7. It’s a great solution to post-lunch food coma.
Another great solution to post-lunch food coma is a healthy and proportionate low-carb lunch, but sometimes post-lunch fatigue is simply unavoidable no matter what you eat. That is when napping comes in handy.
8. 20-30-minute naps help improve memory by five-fold.
Several studies have been done to prove that napping improves memory, but in one experiment, researchers at the University of Sheffield told introduced two groups of people to “120 unrelated word pairs” (Medical News Today), such as “milk-taxi.” Those who took a 45-60-minute long nap after learning the words did five times better when asked to retake the test than those who did not take naps and instead watched a DVD after learning the word combinations.
9. Optimal nap times are between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
I'm not sure why the United States is one of the few countries that does not collectively participate in community siestas. I had always known about siestas being a common activity in foreign countries, but it's hard to understand until you see it. In France this past summer, I noticed everyone from shop owners to school teachers would lock their doors to the public for a couple hours so they could go home, eat lunch, and take a nap before resuming the day's work. Sleep.org says, “Stick to a regular napping schedule during optimal hours, which are between 1:00pm and 3:00 p.m. This timeframe is optimal, since that’s usually after lunchtime, when your blood sugar and energy starts to dip. Keep shut-eye short; and nap in a dark room so that you’ll fall asleep faster.”
9. Napping is better than coffee.
It is natural, healthy, and does not get in the way of a good night’s sleep (especially in comparison to a midday caffeine boost).
10. Sometimes, the constant need for a nap can be a bad sign.
Make sure that, instead of guiltlessly resorting to a nap whenever you feel tired, you check your reasoning and make sure your fatigue isn’t coming from some kind of physical illness or depression.
