We aren’t the only ones who love our naps: most mammals naturally sleep for short periods throughout the day. During the summer when we have the time, why fight the urge to nap?
Napping cultures (those that practice siestas at least two times a week) have lower rates of heart disease! The cultures that nap THREE TIMES a week have reduced rates of coronary heart disease of up to 37%!!!
Just in case these facts haven’t convinced you that you ought to indulge in an afternoon nap, did you know that research has shown that 26 minutes of sleep (sometimes referred to as a “NASA nap”) can improve performance and alertness of pilots by 34% and 54% respectively?
So now that you know all the reasons that a siesta is necessary during these hot summer days, here are some options:
Baby Naps
Even 2-5 minutes of sleep will reduce your sleepiness but 5-20 minutes can noticeably increase your motility and alertness! If you don’t have time to fit a power nap or a monster nap into your day, a baby nap is better than no nap at all!
Power Naps
You get everything you get out of a baby nap plus more with a power nap! It’s the most common nap for a reason: just over 20 minutes of sleep can improve your long-term memory!
Monster Naps
Any nap over 50 minutes can be considered a monster nap- the only nap in which you can get REM sleep! REM sleep is absolutely essential to optimally processing the busy world in which we live!
Just 60 minutes can keep you more alert for almost half a day!
Sleep well and enjoy your siestas!
Emma B has 11 post(s) on RTR On Campus
