Sunday, January 23, 2011
Stay Alert with an Afternoon Siesta
Few of us get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night, and many who have time to nap do not, for fear of spoiling night-time sleep. But sleep researchers say napping does not make nodding off at night more difficult, and it may even sharpen your mind.
Researchers gave 32 adults thinking and memory tasks over a four-day period. On the third day, they were asked to try to nap between 2pm and 4pm. For another four days, they skipped the nap but took the tests. On the day of the nap and the following day, they did better on the tasks, and the daytime snooze had no effect on night-time sleep quality or quantity.
You have a biological sleep need for X hours. If you can sleep in the middle of the day, you need it. Not all of us can take a daily nap. Luckily squeezing in a siesta on the weekend can help.
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