The afternoon nap has many benefits to our health. A half hour or an hour of sleep immediately after lunch increases the brain’s ability to retain information which is very beneficial for our neurological activity. Also, afternoon naps relax the body and eliminate the accumulated stress.
If you find this habit strange or unusual, it’s good to know that many of the brilliant minds of the world have slept in the afternoon. Margaret Thatcher has said that she does not sleep more than 4 hours a night, but always took a 30 minutes nap every day at noon. Other famous people who had this habit are Bill Clinton, JF Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, Florence Nightingale and Albert Einstein.
The effects of the afternoon sleep were also demonstrated in by a scientific study: 39 students were divided into two groups. The group that took an afternoon nap proved substantially higher learning abilities than the other team. One of the most straightforward explanations of this fact is that sleep deletes useless items stored in the short-term memory, leaving this room for new information.
The afternoon nap is essential for children, especially until they reach eight years. Sleeping at noon makes them more active and ensures a restful sleep during the night. Afternoon sleep is considered by experts as necessary as the night sleep. In fact, some voices say that one supports the other: if the baby does not rest well during the day, he almost certainly will not become agitated and will not sleep well at night.
But afternoon sleep can be followed by so-called “inertness,” which is manifested by drowsiness, irritability, disorientation, sometimes pain, general inability to concentrate. For children, the inertia is manifested more severe in those who were very tired when they have gone to bed.
Countless parents complain that their babies have been awakened from afternoon sleep the almost hysterical. Doctors say the only way to prevent this event or at least to improve it is to avoid excessive fatigue. Parents must provide children the opportunity to sleep at noon.
The researchers concluded that afternoon nap is most refreshing when it happens in about eight hours after awakening. So if you wake up at eight in the morning, your afternoon nap should start no earlier than four o’clock. If you do have not the time for the afternoon sleep, just take a quick nap sometime during the day.