Facts About Napping

About 85% of mammal species are polyphasic sleepers, which mean they sleep for a short period of time throughout the day. We humans are minority of monophasic sleepers i.e. our daily routine is divided into two distinct periods; one is sleep and one for waking. It is not clear yet that this is the natural sleep pattern of humans or not. Young children and elderly persons use to nap in afternoon normally, and it is an important aspect of many cultures in the world.

We as a nation appears to be more sleep deprived. It may be because of our busy lifestyle which keeps us from taking nap. It doesn’t necessarily make up for a poor night time sleep, a short nap of half an hour can help us improve good mood and alertness. Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Napoleon, Ronald Reagan are all known for an afternoon nap.

Nap can be divided into following types

Planned nap

Also called preparatory nap, involves taking a nap before you can get sleepy. You can use this technique when you will be up later than your normal bed time or as a mechanism to ward off getting tired earlier.

Emerging nap

It occurs when you are very tired and are not able to continue with the activity you were doing. This type of nap id used to combat drowsy driving or fatigue while using heavy and dangerous machinery at work.

Habitual nap

It is practiced when a person takes a nap at the same time every day. Young children may fall asleep at about the same time each afternoon or an adult might take a short nap after lunch every day.

BENEFITS

• Naps restore alertness, enhance your performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40 min napping improved their performance by 34% and alertness 100%.
• Naps increase alertness in the period directly following the nap and may extend alertness a few hours later in the day.
• Scheduled napping has also been prescribed for those who are affected by narcolepsy.
• Napping also has psychological benefits. A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation. It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation.

Most of the people are aware that driving while sleepy is extremely dangerous. Still, many drivers press on when they feel drowsy in spite of the risks, putting themselves and others in harm’s way. While getting a full night sleep before driving is the ideal, taking a short nap before driving reduces a person’s risk of having a drowsy driving crash. Sleep experts also recommend that if you feel drowsy when night shift. They found that both naps and caffeine improved alertness and performance among night shift workers and that the combination of naps and caffeine had the most beneficial effects on then. While driving, you should immediately pull over to a rest area, have a caffeinated beverage and take a 20 min nap.

People, who work in shifts, are working a schedule that deviates from the typical 9 to 5 hrs, may cause fatigue and performance impairments, especially for the night shift workers. Researchers at the Sleep Medicine and Research Center affiliated with St. John’s Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke’s Hospital in suburban St. Louis, MO, looked at the effectiveness of taking naps and consuming caffeine to cope with sleepiness during the night shift. They found that both naps and caffeine improved alertness and performance among night shift workers and that the combination of naps and caffeine had the most beneficial effect.

James K. Walsh, PhD, one of the researchers who conducted the study, explained, “Because of the body’s propensity for sleep at night, being alert and productive on the night shift can be challenging, even if you’ve had enough daytime sleep.” “Napping before work combined with consuming caffeine while on the job is an effective strategy for remaining alert on the night shift.”

STIGMAS:

While research has shown that napping is a beneficial way to relieve tiredness, it still has stigmas associated with it.

• Napping indicates laziness, lack of ambition, and low standards.
• Napping is only for children, the sick and the elderly.
• Though the above statements are completely false, many segments of the public may still need to be educated on the benefits of napping.

A recent study in the research journal Sleep examined the benefits of naps of various lengths and no naps. The results showed that a 10-minute nap produced the most benefit in terms of reduced sleepiness and improved cognitive performance. A nap for over 30 mins or longer is more likely to be accompanied by sleep inertia, which is the period of grogginess that sometimes follows sleep.

By now you are thinking about ways to incorporate naps into your daily routine. Keep in mind that getting enough sleep on regular basis is the best way to stay alert and feel your best. But when fatigue sets in, a quick nap can do wonders for your mental and physical stamina.