Short Naps Have Major Benefits for Your Mind
For a time, research was both for and against napping. Many studies showed mood and cognition benefits from midday rest, That left some experts hesitant to offer advice on naps. More recent research, though, has clarified that different types of naps have different effects. A number of scientists now think the sweet spot is about 20 to 30 minutes.
Short naps do indeed have cognitive benefits, especially significant improvements in certain kinds of memory and information-processing speed. No one talks about mood enough, but, tired people tend to be angry people.
Even a short, 10-minute nap will refresh a person. If someone does a little longer, the cognitive benefits last a little bit longer as well, and that's why half an hour, give or take a bit, has emerged as a good nap span.
Cognitive benefits do show up after naps that extend past 30 minutes, and those benefits last longer. Even though the unevenness can pass relatively quickly and not everyone gets it, many people find it unpleasant.
Longer naps are also associated with some health problems. Those who napped for more than 30 minutes at a time were 23 percent more likely to be obese than those who didn't nap at all. They were also more likely to have a combination of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other health issues.
A. and that makes it easier to wake up. B. It doesn't take much sleep to see these improvements. C. A nap also simply makes many people feel better. D. But it is probably a disease that causes the extra napping. E. yet others found links to poor health, especially in older adults. F. In addition, long naps reduce the body's ability to lose fat on a diet. G. But longer naps let a person increase uneven feeling on waking. |
