Studies indicate that napping can improve your health if done correctly. However, long naps may end up having a negative impact on your overall health, and may also contribute to shortening your lifespan.
Newsweek spoke with sleep doctors to understand how an afternoon nap can impact your life, and how you can get the most out of it.
Sleep expert and neuroscientist at sleep testing company Wesper, Chelsea Rohrsheib, said: “While the research is mixed on how napping affects health and longevity, studies suggest that the extent to which it affects your health depends on the situation. People who are generally healthy and get If you get a good night’s sleep, they tend to benefit from short naps during the day.”
She added: “Evidence suggests that they have improved brain and heart health, and may live longer.”
A 10- to 20-minute nap can improve cognitive function, mood, and productivity, and provide a boost of energy to humans.
According to medical reports, a short nap can be better than caffeine, when you need to focus and you feel very tired.
Moreover, they help reduce stress, improve immune health, lower blood pressure, enhance creativity, and regulate nighttime sleep.
Dr. Raj Dasgupta, chief medical advisor at Sleep Advisor, which includes a group of sleep specialists, said: “It is important that naps do not exceed 30 minutes to prevent you from entering the deeper stages of sleep.”
He added that a nap lasting longer than 30 minutes puts you at risk of sleep inertia, which occurs when you wake up from deep sleep feeling more tired and groggy than before your nap.
How does a long nap affect you?
“Long naps can be associated with poor health and decreased longevity, because people who consistently take long naps are more likely to have low-quality sleep or short sleep durations at night,” Rohrsheib explains.
She said: “It is well understood that lack of sleep at night has major negative effects on health and human lifespan, in particular increasing rates of most types of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, obesity, neurological diseases, hormonal changes, and diseases of the immune system.”
She added: “People who need long naps are usually very tired and sluggish during the day, and therefore more prone to a sedentary lifestyle.”
According to Dasgupta, needing long naps often may also be a sign that something is wrong with your body.
He added: “If you find yourself needing long or multiple naps to get through your day, you may have a sleep disorder. If you find yourself routinely needing long naps, this may be a sign that something else is going on.”
How does napping affect children?
While adults often take naps when they feel tired or stressed, children actually need naps to thrive.
Dasgupta explained that this is because young children need more hours of sleep than adults, a need that will decrease as they get older.
He added: “Children need more sleep compared to adults and benefit greatly from naps, as it helps their cognitive development and strengthens memory. Naps can also improve children’s mood, energy, and overall well-being.”
He continued: “Adults do not need frequent naps like children. It is important for adults to limit the length of their naps to avoid disrupting their sleep during the night.”
2023-10-02 17:26:35
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