Can Daily Naps Effect Your Health?

As an adult, we all regret the times when we fought with our parents about taking naps. We often get frustrated that our own children don’t want to take naps either. Overall, all of use have taken napping for granted and would take it all back if we could. Many adults can’t find the time to make naps because of the busy lifestyle of today’s society. However, there are many benefits if you can get it a good 30 minute nap. On the other hand though, there are those people who take advantage of taking too many naps, which can lead to drawbacks in our health as well.

No matter what your age is, napping isn’t just for children. If you are often feeling sleep deprived or just looking for a way to relax, your immediate reaction is to want to take a nap. However, there is a such a thing to falling asleep at the wrong time of day and for how long you nap for. This can ultimately backfire on you, causing you to possibly feel more tired when you wake up. There is such a thing as getting too much sleep that really makes you feel worse than if you just got a bad nights sleep.

What Are The Benefits Of Napping?

You’ll really benefit from napping if you take a recommended 20-30 minute nap for short-term alertness. It is said to provide significant benefits for improved alertness and performance without leaving you feeling groggy when you wake up afterwards or effecting your sleep at night. Having a sound sleep environment can greatly impact your ability to fall asleep. Find a restful place to lie down and most of all limit any noise heard and the extent of the light filtering in. Below are a few benefits of napping that can significantly improve your mood, health and sleep patterns.

• They can and are meant to restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents.
• Naps can increase alertness int he period directly following the nap and may extend alertness a few hours later in the day.
• It also has physiological benefits. It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation back into your life.

What Are Some Drawbacks Of Napping?

There are however some downfalls to napping as well. Let’s just say that it is not for everyone. Some people just simple can’t sleep during the day or end up having trouble sleeping in place other than their own bed. It can also lead to negative side effects as well such as…

• Sleep Inertia – This can make you feel groggy and disoriented after waking up from a nap. This can tend to happen if you take too long of a nap at the wrong time of the day.
• Nighttime Sleep Problems – If you take short naps, they won’t affect nighttime sleep quality for most people. However, if you do experience insomnia or poor sleep quality at night, napping might worsen these problems. If you take long and frequent naps they will interfere with your nighttime sleep patterns.
• One study was conducted showing that those who are at risk for heart failure are increasing their risks of the heart failure.

What Are The Stigmas Of Napping?

Many people like to think that they can’t nap because of a few certain reasons. Although, it has been proven to be beneficial to relieve tiredness, there are of course stigmas that do come along with it. Those common stigmas include: that napping indicates laziness, a lack of ambition, and low standards and secondly many tend to think that napping is only meant for children, the sick or the elderly. These statements are both false and those who believe that these are true, need to be educated on the benefits of napping.