Easy Health Tip #39: Take a Siesta
A cat nap, snooze, doze, winks, power nap, or simply an afternoon nap all have the power to recharge your body and spirit. A nap can chase a headache away or change your entire outlook on a morning that’s quickly turning into “just one of those days.”
That is, if you play your cards right:
- Realize that you’re not being lazy! You’re maximizing your potential for the rest of the day.
- Avoid “slow-wave” or deep sleep, or at least avoid waking up during this time. (This occurs between 20 and 40 minutes into your sleep cycle.) Waking up during this time will make you sluggish.
- Skip the caffeine and go easy on the sugary and fatty foods leading up to your nap. They mess with your sleep cycle. Calcium and protein are what you’re after pre-naptime.
- Do your best to darken your nap zone. This helps stimulate melatonin production in your body, which will help you get to sleep.
- Once you’re settled, set your alarm for 20 minutes. This way you get all the benefits of the first two stages of your sleep cycle and none of the grogginess that occurs if you wake during the third.
Ah! That’s better… Short naps have been shown to increase alertness, stamina, motor learning, motor performance, muscle memory and clear the brain of useless built-up information, which helps with long-term memory (remembering facts, events, and names).
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