Napping and my health

I have been advised to take occasional naps to improve my health. I will appreciate it if you can let me know how much napping I should be doing.

Emeka (by SMS)

Napping for even just 10 minutes during the day can have many benefits, including boosting alertness, enhancing learning, and lowering your blood pressure. A quick nap can enhance your performance, increase alertness, and improve your mood. The key to napping is to keep naps short — 10 to 20 minutes— so you don’t go too far into the sleep cycle, which can actually leave you feeling groggy and more tired than before.

When you nap for 10 to 20 minutes, you enter into the first and sometimes second stages of sleep. That’s just enough to refresh you and get the benefits associated with napping. The health benefits of napping have been scientifically proven. Here’s a look at what a quick power nap can do for you.

Based on various studies, napping during the day can improve your learning skills. Not only does napping improve your focus and memory, which can help you learn and retain information. New research shows that a midday nap can significantly lower blood pressure. Napping during the day can improve your mood.

Short naps boost energy levels and help get you over the afternoon slump. They’ve also been linked to increased positivity and a better tolerance for frustration.

Taking a quick nap can also help you feel less tired and irritable if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep the previous night. While napping has been shown to offer numerous health benefits, it can produce side effects and even have negative consequences for your health when not timed properly or if you have certain underlying conditions.

Napping too long or too late in the day can make it harder to get a good night’s sleep. This is even worse for people with insomnia who already have trouble sleeping at night. Limiting your naps to 10 to 20 minutes can leave you feeling more alert and refreshed.

More than that, especially longer than 30 minutes, is likely to leave you feeling sluggish, groggy, and more tired than before you closed your eyes. The best time to take a nap depends on individual factors like your sleep schedule and age.

For most people, napping early in the afternoon is the best way to go. Napping after 3 p.m. can interfere with nighttime sleep.

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