Sleeping makes us feel refreshed and energized. Poor sleep can leave you feeling groggy and rundown. Many of us experience this throughout the day and like to indulge in an afternoon snooze. Alexa Fry and Kimberly Truong, MD, MPH from The Sleep Foundation recommend, "The best nap length in most situations is one that is long enough to be refreshing but not so long that sleep inertia (sleepiness) occurs." Science has given us a few good reasons on why a 20 minute cat nap can improve your life.
A small power nap can actually boost your mood. One study found a link between happiness and naps lasting less than 30 minutes. It also showed that "short-nappers" have an overall improved happiness on a day-to-day basis in comparison to people who napped for a longer period of time.
You can actually lower the risk of heart attack or stroke according to a long term study done in Switzerland. They found that people who take one to two naps a week lowered their risk of a heart attack, stroke or heart failure by 48%.
Want to improve your brain power? Take a midday nap! Research done comparing a nap to cognitive brain functions in ageing Chinese adults, showed that habitual nappers scored higher on tests involving memory, verbal fluency and locational awareness.
Remember, less is more. According to a recent study, napping for an hour has been found to increase cardiovascular disease 34%, as well as a 30% greater overall risk of death.
Mark Nolan stands by his "nappuccino" and so does science. Drink a cup of coffee and then take a 25 minute nap. It takes that amount of time for the caffeine to kick in so upon waking it should give you an extra boost.
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