5 Surprising Health Benefits of Napping

Napping has long been seen as a sign of both luxury and slackery, but taking naps shouldn’t have this stigma anymore. From lowering your blood pressure to boosting your memory, getting some midday shut-eye can actually be beneficial for your health and productivity at work.

1. Boosts Alertness. Among the known benefits taking power naps is an added boost in one’s alertness. A NASA study even found that pilots who snoozed for 40 minutes showed higher levels of alertness compared to those who didn’t rest. In fact, even a 10 to 20-minute shut-eye is already enough to make you feel more alert throughout the day.

 

2. Enhances Creativity. Our mind love naps, and there’s no denying it. Spending a couple of hours for some daytime sleep actually aids in boosting your cognitive processing, improving memory recall and enhancing your creativity. This happens because taking longer naps allows sleepers to enter REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase, leading to a better performance on coming up of creative solutions on most word problems.

3. Increases Productivity. Experts agree that taking an afternoon nap is in fact the opposite of being lazy in the workplace, because having a siesta break actually helps in improving one’s work output. In fact, taking a short power nap is already enough for a worn-out, sleep deprived employee to be more productive at work.

 

4. Lifts Willpower. Boosting your willpower can be tough when you’re sleep deprived and tired. A good way to lift your willpower? Having a midday power nap. Being able to rest midday can aid in reversing your usual willpower drain from day- to night-time. Aside from that, a siesta break also reduces stress, improves mood, and restores your focus at work.

 

5. Zaps Stress. Part of the reason why you’re smiling after taking a nap might be related to relaxation. Just the luxury of escaping from all your present problems can already be great stress-reliever, even if you don’t nap for too long. Experts even recommend that you consider it as a ‘mini-vacation’ from all the stress at work.

You might think of napping as an act of slacking at work, but taking a few minutes to snooze actually does the opposite. So consider taking a good power nap now, and reap its amazing health and productivity benefits.