Taking a nap is more beneficial than we might think. Discover all the advantages of respecting nap time and how to do it to improve your psychological and mental performance.
The snap It is one of the best known aspects of our culture. Although many people choose to avoid nap time, the reality is that this small act can benefit us in many psychological aspects. Here you will discover all the advantages of taking a nap.
Have a nap It is beneficial to both improve our stress level and even cheer us up by elevating our mood. So much so that there are many studies that have shown that taking a good nap prevents accidents at work as well as improves attention, concentration and even the performance of people who take part in the traditional Spanish siesta.
Various psychological studies indicate that there is an ideal time to Take a nap and benefit from them. According to Mednick, a doctor in psychology and author of the book Take a Nap!, the best nap time is precisely seven hours after waking up. The reason for this is at this time when an ideal balance is achieved between the REM sleep experienced during the night and the slow waves of sleep during nap time. So to take a nap and get all its mental and physical benefits, you should do it precisely at these times.
There is a biological reason why people feel like have a nap right after eating or during midday hours. According to research, we are biologically designed to sleep during the night and a short stretch during the middle of the day.
This happens because around one and three o’clock in the afternoon people experience how their body temperature drops and melatonin levels increase. These are two of the signs that indicate that our body is ready to sleep.
Benefits of naps
There are many benefits of sleeping well and trying to rest as much as possible to have the energy necessary for our daily lives. According to psychologists, there are the following advantages of taking a nap.
Increase our attention: Not sleeping one night or staying for some time without sleeping well It affects our attention span. In many cases, sleep is the key to being able to take advantage of the present and see all the opportunities that life gives us in our daily lives.
Improves concentration: Thanks to the naps We can improve our concentration before the tasks we perform. When you take a good nap, people improve their focus and ability to concentrate, thus improving the retention of new information and short-term memory.
Helps make better decisions: Respect the NAP time improves our flexibility in the face of events. In this way, we have a greater ability to see situations from different perspectives and this helps us make better decisions.
Improves mood: Napping also has effects on our mood. So much so that have a nap It helps our emotional regulation by increasing our tolerance for frustrations and reducing our impulsivity in the face of events that are beyond our control.
Boost creativity: A good nap, that is, taking a short nap after eating, can elevate our creativity. In addition, this also encourages cross-dialogue between our creative brain and the analytical side.
Reduces stress: Make a nap time a day helps strengthen our body and mind’s ability to withstand or cope with the stress of our way of life. Through nap time our body takes the opportunity to strengthen the immune system, making us feel stronger and healthier.
Improves appearance and physical performance: When we sleep our body takes the opportunity to rebuild ourselves inside and out. In this way, one of the benefits of napping and sleeping Well, it is precisely that it keeps us younger for longer and healthier. In addition, this allows us to also have greater performance in our physical activities.
As we can see the naps They have many benefits for our mental health. The reason for this is that enjoying a good rest is vital for both our interior and exterior.
When is it not good to take a nap?
Despite all the benefits of taking a nap, the reality is that there are a series of cases in which resorting to a nap can be counterproductive. Among the most common we find the following.
Insomnia: When a person has a bad night’s sleep or suffers from insomnia, take the NAP time It will not be beneficial to you. The reason for this is that it is very possible that due to the nap you will experience insomnia again during the night and it will be more difficult for you to return to a normal sleeping schedule.
When you disrupt circadian rhythms: To lean the NAP It is only beneficial if it is done within a reasonable amount of time. For example, with a two-hour nap, not only do people not benefit from its positive effects, but this action can also interfere with our circadian rhythms.
Interferes with our mood: Yes to take a nap People wake up feeling discouraged or feel sadder than usual, perhaps taking a nap is not for them. There are people who respond poorly to nap time, in these cases there may be a problem that interferes with it.
On many occasions, not enjoying a good rest can cause people to resort to nap to try to get used to new schedules. For this reason, if you do not enjoy a good sleep, it will be essential to go to a professional psychologist.
In order to obtain all the benefits of nap There are a series of rules that you can follow. According to specialists, to obtain the benefits of a nap we must do it in the following way. Therefore, naps should last approximately 20 minutes to obtain the benefits that we have described.
Sleeping is essential to recover our batteries and enjoy our daily lives. Have a nap It will certainly be an ideal way to get the push towards living life with much more joy and energy.
