March 08, 2007
Power Nap for Kids
Across the parking lot from The Observer office is Children's Corner daycare.
On summer afternoons when the tree in front of that building is in full bloom, it casts a comforting shade on one of the windows where the children inside take their naps.
The window is raised just enough at about one or two o'clock in the afternoon to allow a gentle breeze to blow through. The children are put down to sleep for an hour or so. They awake refreshed, energized and ready to go for the rest of the afternoon.
If it's OK for children to nap in the afternoon, shouldn't it be OK for adults to grab a power nap, too? More and more research is suggesting that many can benefit from afternoon naps - that snoozing isn't losing.
Consider these factors:
According to USA Today, in a study published in the February issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, Greek adults who took regular naps were significantly less likely to die of heart disease than those who ddin't. The study showed that working men benefited most.
Fast-living New Yorkers are paying $12 and up to nap at trendy sleep salons, the New York Times reported recently.
In a book published recently, Take a Nap, Change Your Life, psychologist and author Sara Mednick, said there are benefits to napping in the afternoon. Doctors are in agreement, too.
While small children typically take naps in the afternoon, our culture generally frowns upon mid-day sleep. However, even in those who get enough sleep (but particularly in those who don't), many people experience a natural increase in drowsiness in the afternoon, roughly eight hours after waking. And research shows that you can make yourself more alert, reduce stress and improve cognitive functioning with a nap. Mid-day sleep, or a 'power nap', means more patience, less stress, better reaction time, increased learning, more efficiency and better health.
Sleep is cumulative. If you lose sleep one day, you feel it the next. If you miss adequate sleep several days in a row, you build up a sleep deficit, which can impair reaction time, judgment, vision, performance, motivation and short-term memory.
As there are pros and cons to each length of sleep, you may want to let your schedule decide, but experts say if you only have 15 minutes to spare, by all means take them. If you only have five minutes to spare, just close your eyes. Even a brief rest has the benefit of reducing stress and helping you relax a little, which can give you more energy to complete the tasks of your day.
Labels: nap, power nap, powernap
