Picture this: You’ve just finished school, it’s now 3pm and you’re at home. You also know that you have a big night ahead of you, starting at 7pm. Tiredness begins to kick in and you don’t know how you’re going to get through the night. You think about taking a power nap but are scared that you’ll end up feeling worse, rather than benefit from it. We’ve all had a similar scenario at least once in our lives!
Whether or not naps are good for you is a question that people still ponder over. You’ll have some people telling you that it will only make you more groggy, while others will insist that it has a range of health benefits. Why is there such a divide in opinions?
The answer is simple — it’s all about timing (there’s a reason why the word ‘power’ is placed in front of ‘nap’). So let’s dive into the benefits of power naps, so you can feel more energised!
Debunking the Myth of Naps
Siesta
Benefits of Power Naps
Debunking the Myth of Naps
Those who believe that naps are not beneficial probably slept for over an hour. If this is the case, they are completely right and would have woken up feeling groggy and out of it.
However, they weren’t resting in the confines of a ‘power nap’. According to clinical research, napping for an hour or longer increases your risk of falling into the deep stages of sleep.
Once you reach this state of slumber, you are no longer napping. This is why the definition of a nap is especially important when discussing its benefits, as there are still a few misconceptions.
The common definition of a nap is a short or brief sleep taken especially during the day to relieve drowsiness. The ideal nap duration is 15 to 30 minutes, with the Sleep Health Foundation recommending this amount in order to wake up feeling refreshed.
Your number one goal in waking up more revitalised is to prevent yourself from reaching the deeper stages of sleep. Better set that timer!
Siesta
Many cultures, particularly within Mediterranean countries, have been benefiting from afternoon naps, while other countries have lagged behind.
A ‘siesta’ is a common tradition in some countries, where people go home after lunch to take a 20-30 minute afternoon nap. The idea of a siesta has been around for thousands of years and were once thought to be a physical necessity rather than a luxury — these cultures were sure onto something!
Now that we have that all cleared up, let’s delve into the 5 ways naps can supercharge your day (or night!)
Benefits of Power Naps
#1: Boost memory
Studies have shown that sleep plays an important role in storing memories. A nap can you help you remember things that were learned earlier in the day just as much as a full night’s sleep.
According to a randomised controlled trial, 31 participants were first told to learn two sets of face-object photograph pairs, in which the objects in each pair were common to both lists, but paired with two different faces, at 12pm.
At 4:30pm, participants who took a nap demonstrated significantly better retention of direct associative memory, and also performed better on a surprise tasks that tested their relational memory. These results show that sleep plays an active role in helping people remember things.
You can read more on the benefits of napping in terms of memory function here!
#2: Improve job performance
Having a nap can give you an energy boost, so it is not a surprise that naps improve job performance. A 2002 study showed that job performance improves after a 30-minute nap. A 2003 experiment displayed nearly the same finding, whilst a 2010 publication indicated that a power sleep improves cognitive function.
Workplaces such as Google, Uber, and Ben & Jerry’s, give their employees opportunities to take power naps at work! It’s a growing trend!
#3: Lift your mood
Just when you thought the benefits couldn’t get any better, naps can also elevate your mood! A research study suggests that naps help improve emotional regulation. This includes increasing your ability to tolerate frustration and can even reduce impulsive tendencies.
According to a medical publication, sleep represents an important factor in emotional brain regulation. Through a face recognition task, the study demonstrated an amplified reactivity to anger and fear emotions across the day, when participants were without sleep.
But, those that did take naps were shown to experience less negative emotions when reacting to anger and fear.
#4: Increase alertness and concentration
A short nap can deliver a boost in energy and alertness, according to a wealth of research. A study found that those who napped were able to concentrate well in the afternoon, as well as in the morning. However, those who didn’t nap showed a decline in concentration throughout the day.
In a way, napping replenishes the brain’s energy stores. Short naps can also improve attention by letting sleepy areas of the brain recover.
#5: Ease stress
If you have just a short dose of sleep during the day, it can help strengthen the body’s ability to weather stress. This is even more evident in those who are not having a good night’s sleep, as research shows that naps reduce stress and strengthen the immune system in people who are sleep deprived.
On top of this, naps can also keep blood pressure in check when responding to stress.
According to doctor Ryan Brindle and Sarah Conklin’s research study, “Daytime sleep may offer cardiovascular benefit by accelerating cardiovascular recovery following mental stressors.” These findings are especially important to students who are experiencing university and school stress.
And that’s it!
If you’re someone that feels a crash in energy in the middle of the day, set an alarm to 20-30 minutes to boost your memory, improve job performance, lift your mood, increase alertness and ease your stress. Even I, before writing this article, had an afternoon nap and I already feel the difference!
Trying to develop a healthier sleep routine? Check out our article here!
Thomasin McCuaig is a Content Writer at Art of Smart and an Arts graduate with majors in English and Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Sydney. Thomasin is a passionate writer, singer and drama teacher, who has had her work published in Holidays with Kids, Signature Luxury Travel and Style and Offspring Magazine. Thomasin also writes junior plays for her students and aims to publish a novel someday. During the COVID isolation period, Thomasin put her passion into practise and launched her own writing and editing business, ‘Re:Write Editing.’ In her spare time you will find her either napping, talking to her cats or looking up real estate for absolutely no reason at all. Fun fact: Thomasin appeared on Japanese morning breakfast show ‘ZIP!’ as a travel reporter, where she presented a six day exposé of Sydney!
