Health Benefits of Power Napping

Given the growing demands placed on us, and the fact that there's simply so much to do and such little time to do it, it is not surprising that most of us often compromise on the hours of sleep to get the work done.

Human beings require 7–8 hours of deep sleep to recharge, without which our daily functions are seen to suffer, and a sleuth of other negative side effects are seen to erupt.But that hardly happens, and most of the time, people are horribly sleep deprived.

Here is where power napping is seen to help. Power napping, like we mentioned earlier, lends to a lot of advantages, that include but are not limited to, warding off sleep attacks. What are the other advantages of the power nap?

• As tiredness leaves, a person becomes more alert and awake, thus, leading to an increase in productivity and efficiency.
• Power napping leads to a significant reduction in stress levels, which automatically leads to less irritability and anger.
• Reduced Stress Levels
• Increase in Productivity and Efficiency
• Better Learning and Improved Memory

• A power nap reduces the chances of developing heart conditions and heart diseases by reducing stress levels in the body.
• A power nap erases the information overload, and makes more space for new information to be processed, hence, improving learning skills.
• Good Heart Health
• Boost in Creativity

• Motivation for Exercise
• A rested mind is able to come up with better ideas, and goes beyond the obvious to explore a more creative side of the subject.
• With the problem of accumulation of sleep being taken care of, one no longer avoids exercising on account of being tired and sleepy.

• People who undertake power naps are able to think faster and more efficiently, and carry forth cognitive activities, like solving puzzles better.
• Increased Cognitive Functioning
• Ideal Duration and Time of Day

☛ Use an eye mask to shut out the light. The brain takes longer to shut down if it is distracted by a light source. Moreover, the darkness stimulates melatonin, which is the sleep-inducing hormone.

☛ Some people concentrate on their breathing pattern or listen to soft, soothing music to help sleep faster.

☛ Set an alarm before you sleep so that you do not exceed your napping time.

☛ Be consistent in your timing to take a nap. If you think that the ideal time to take a nap is at 3 p.m. every afternoon, continue to follow the same timings every day.

☛ Try timing your nap to about 8 hours after waking up. This is considered an ideal time to recharge.