Office people nap, how much is enough?

A short nap can boost your productivity, increase alertness, and improve your mood. A short nap of about 10 to 20 minutes

When you take a 10- to 20-minute nap, you enter the first and sometimes second stage of sleep. That’s just enough to refresh you and get the benefits associated with a nap.

During actual sleep, your body has a chance to complete all five stages of the sleep cycle a few times, which for most healthy adults repeats every 90 to 110 minutes.

As you fall into a deeper sleep, your brain becomes less responsive to external stimuli, making it harder to wake up and increasing the likelihood of drowsiness and fatigue.

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Benefits of a healthy nap

The health benefits of napping are scientifically proven. Here’s what a quick nap can do for you.

Improve performancet

Various studies have found that daytime naps of 10 to 30 minutes can boost performance and increase efficiency at work. Naps have been shown to improve: Psychomotor speed, reaction time, alertness.

Improve learning ability

Based on various studies, napping during the day can improve your study skills. Not only does napping improve your concentration and memory, which can help you learn and retain information, but studies have also found that your ability to learn new information is boosted immediately after a nap. while napping.

Lower blood pressure

New research shows that a nap in the afternoon can significantly lower blood pressure. Results of a study presented at the American Heart Association’s annual scientific meeting in 2019 show that an afternoon nap appears to be just as effective at lowering blood pressure levels as lifestyle changes. others, such as cutting back on salt and drinking alcohol.

Research shows that on average, naps lower blood pressure by 5 mm Hg. This is also comparable to taking low-dose blood pressure medications, which typically reduce blood pressure by 5 to 7 mm Hg.

Just a 2 mm Hg drop in blood pressure can reduce the risk of a heart attack by 10%.

Better mood

Napping during the day can improve your mood. The naps boost energy levels and get you through the afternoon slump. They have also been linked to increased positivity and a better tolerance for frustration. A quick nap can also help you feel less tired and irritable if you haven’t slept well the night before.

Side effects of sleeping during the day

While napping has been proven to offer many health benefits, it can create side effects and even have negative health consequences when it’s not on time or if you have a medical condition. number of potential diseases.

Naps lasting longer than 20 minutes can increase sleep inertia, leaving you feeling disoriented. This happens when you wake up from a deep sleep. If you’re already sleep-deprived, the symptoms of sleep stagnation tend to be more severe and last longer.

Napping for too long or too late in the day can make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. This is even worse for people with insomnia, who already have trouble falling asleep at night.

Longer daytime naps are also associated with a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.

How long should I nap?

Limiting naps to 10 to 20 minutes can help you feel more alert and refreshed. What’s more, especially for longer than 30 minutes, can make you feel more sluggish and tired than before you closed your eyes. The exception is if you’re sleep-deprived and can sleep long enough to complete a full sleep cycle, at least 90 minutes.

When is the best time to take a nap?

The best time to nap depends on personal factors like your sleep schedule and age. For most people, an early afternoon nap is best. Napping after 3 p.m. can interfere with sleep at night.

How long should adults and children nap?

Children and adults have different sleep needs, and these needs continue to change throughout our lives. Determining your nap time will depend on how much sleep you need each night and how much you actually get. In children, the recommended nap time varies by age as follows:

0 to 6 months: two or three daytime naps lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours each

6 to 12 months: two naps a day, lasting from 20 minutes to several hours

1 to 3 years old: a 1 to 3 hour nap

3 to 5 years old: a 1 or 2 hour nap

5 to 12 years old: no need to nap if they get the recommended 10 or 11 hours of sleep per night

A healthy adult does not need a nap, but can nap for 10 to 20 minutes or 90 to 120 minutes when sleep deprived.

What happens to your body when you sleep too much or too little?

Sleeping too much or too little can have negative effects, and both can be signs of an underlying problem. Sleeping too much can make you feel groggy after waking up. Too much sleep can increase the risk of several diseases, including: heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, premature death.

Too little sleep can also have some negative effects on your health. Not getting enough sleep causes daytime sleepiness and irritability, and can affect your performance.

Other effects of sleep deprivation include: weight gain, increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, low sex drive, increased risk of accidents, impaired memory, difficulty concentrating

Dr. Hong Ngoc – Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine