Remember when you were a child and naptime was the worst part of the day? Now, as an adult, you’d gladly take a job that included a power nap in the schedule, but those are few and far between.
However, with more and more research touting the benefits of midday snoozes, you don’t have to feel guilty the next time you need a short rest. It’s common to feel sleepy in the afternoon — after all, you’ve already been awake and focused on many tasks for hours!
If you have a short opportunity in your day for a power nap, this little break could be exactly what you need to push through the rest of the day with extra focus and productivity. In this blog, we’ll share the benefits of power naps to help convince you — and maybe your boss — that this small break may be just what the doctor ordered.
1. Better Cognitive Thinking
When you’re tired, you’re more prone to make mistakes. So, midway through your workday, just as you’re expected to do crucial tasks like pick up your kids from school or handle other people’s money, your sleepiness kicks in and increases your risk of getting in a car accident or making serious business errors.
If you had a restless slumber the night before, tossing and turning and getting less than six hours of sleep, this risk increases substantially. Even one night of missed sleep hurts your ability to make decisions or focus. A few hours of insomnia causes a decrease in cognitive functioning, meaning you can’t react as quickly as you may need to, you’re less alert, and your judgment is impaired.
Yet, a quick 10-, 20-, or 30-minute power nap can refresh your mind and boost your alertness for the rest of the day. With less than half an hour of a brain break, you don’t enter the deep stages of REM sleep that cause grogginess when you wake up. That minor break more than makes up for the delay in focusing throughout the day that comes from chronic sleepiness.
2. Improved Physical Health
Have you been gaining weight without an obvious cause? Are you having trouble breathing or symptoms of high blood pressure, like headaches? These problems and more are often the effects of ongoing sleep deprivation.
One night of missed sleep is instantly noticeable, but over time, you can “get used to” chronic insomnia. This is often the case when you have a new baby or are spending many sleepless nights worrying about major life changes. Chances are, you’ve also noticed the adjustment to sleep loss if you have bruxism. Even with a night guard, the clenching and grinding behaviors caused by bruxism can “wake” your brain up while you continue slumbering unawares. (This article by JS Dental Lab explains the importance of wearing a night guard and keeping it clean for optimal health if you’re a bruxer.)
But what you probably don’t realize is that the lack of sleep adds up, even if you don’t notice the consequences as obviously as you once did.
Now, the damage is done in the background. Ongoing sleep loss leads to problems like headaches, impaired immune system functioning, weight gain, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. While a power nap isn’t going to counteract the effects of long-term sleep loss, it does offer your brain the chance to correct some of the damage done to your cells.
3. You Stick to Your Natural Body Rhythm
Natural is best, and our body’s natural sleep rhythm seems to be to rest after eight hours or so of work. As a whole, we become tired about that time, possibly due to an adenosine buildup.
Adenosine is a chemical that slows down the heart rate. When this chemical isn’t released, it results in a sleep drive. Stimulants like caffeine block adenosine receptors in the brain, keeping us alert and awake. But the more adenosine you build up over the day, the easier it is to fall asleep at night.
On the other hand, fighting through that chemical buildup and sleep drive when you’re supposed to be driving or working can be dangerous. A power nap gives your brain the chance to recycle the adenosine, waking you up and giving you the mental alertness necessary to “power” through the rest of the day.
As long as you continue to complete tasks and stay active until bedtime, you should have enough of this sleep-inducing chemical in your brain when it’s time to fall asleep.
Conclusion
Power naps can be an easy way to take you from feeling like you’re half-asleep and dragging through the day to wide awake and ready to conquer the world.
However, proceed with your naps with caution! If you fall for the temptation to hit snooze and sleep past 20-30 minutes, you may enter a deep sleep stage. These longer naps make it harder to build up the adenosine you need to sleep later and can cause you to struggle to wake up when you need to. Set your alarm, and then set it again for a minute or two after, and enjoy that 10-30 minute power nap guilt-free!