Naps bring a lot of benefits on many different levels and help in holistic recovery and lifestyle.
A study conducted by NASA showed that military pilots and astronauts perform better after a 40-minute nap. Test subjects showed a 34% improvement in performance and 100% improvement in alertness.
This proves that naps can increase the quality of performance and a person’s attentiveness right after a nap. But the improvement in alertness can even extend to hours after waking up.
There are psychological benefits to napping as well. They separate you from your stressors, and are an accessible way of getting some rest.
Different Kinds of Naps
There are different kinds of naps. Depending on your lifestyle and needs, you can decide on which sleep and nap pattern is right for you.
1. Habitual Napping
The first kind is habitual napping or having a set time out of each day for naps. These naps, taking a permanent place in your sleep cycle, help keep even out your energy at a high level throughout the day.
Taking 2-hour naps every day can help people work around unusual work hours or really hectic schedules. This is also prescribed for people with narcolepsy and is even a part of the culture in the Mediterranean and Hispanic countries as “siesta”.
2. Emergency Napping
The second kind is emergency napping or naps that we can’t help but take out of exhaustion. Besides obvious recharging benefits of napping for students, there is more to emergency napping that could benefit everyone.
Napping, if kept under 30 minutes, can bring power nap benefits such as heightened alertness. Emergency naps could also work as a reward system to make your productivity levels sustainable.
3. Planned Napping
Lastly is planned or preparatory napping and this is basically a form of preempting emergency napping. Planned naps are taken before you get sleepy. This is to trick your body into thinking you’re well-rested since you allow yourself to rest before you feel tired. This helps not only people who can’t spend much time asleep but also with jetlag.
In general, there are many different benefits to napping and even more possible ways of incorporating napping into your lifestyle. As long as naps are taken in moderation and your sleep cycle is one that works for you, you can have these benefits and more.
Learn more about Healthy Sleep here.
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