Go ahead and nap: you’ll be in good company, and better health.
Although napping in the afternoon is not our fist priority in our workaholic culture, often misinterpreted to be a sign of poor health or sheer laziness, it does provide tremendous benefits to both health and wealth.
In fact, there is no need to feel at all guilty about it, and many historical figures have considered the idea of afternoon napping as a secret for their success.
Famous People In History Who Took Naps
Here is a brief list of people who took afternoon naps or sometimes took several naps during the course of the day:
- Famous artists like Salvador Dali and Leonardo da Vinci took naps.
- Inventor Thomas Edison took naps.
- First lady Eleanor Roosevelt took naps.
- French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte took naps.
- Business Tycoon John D. Rockefeller took naps
- War-time British Prime Minister Winston Churchill took naps.
- American Presidents like John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan took naps.
So, you are in illustrious company when you take an afternoon nap.
The Benefits of Napping
What did these well-known people, responsible for nothing less than changing the world we live in, know about the power of napping that most ordinary folk miss?
First, napping restores your level of alertness.
Second, napping reduces stress and prevents a career burnout.
Third, napping restores the five senses, making a person better at information-processing and making good decisions.
Fourth, napping reduces the risk of heart attack and other fatal illnesses because one causative factor is a high level of cortisol, the stress hormone, constantly circulating through their blood stream.
Fifth, napping makes a person much more productive for the rest of the day.
How to Nap
1. According to sleep research, the best time to nap is after lunch or before 4 pm. This is because the body’s circadian rhythm slows down between 1 pm and 4 pm.
2. Consistency is important to train the mind and the body to relax deeply at a certain time of the day. Inconsistency results in circadian imbalance and an inability to fall asleep.
3. Nap for as long as is necessary to feel completely restored. “Usually, a half-hour is sufficient, unless a person is deeply exhausted and needs to rest more,” says author Michael Myles. Usually, the body knows how long it needs to rest.
4. Create the right conditions for napping. This might include a dark room, blankets, or anything else that makes you feel safe.
5. The best way to fall asleep is to eat the right foods before napping. For a good list of sleep inducing foods, look here.
Conclusion
Napping in the afternoon or at any other convenient time is not a sign of poor health or laziness. In fact, it is the secret to higher levels of intelligence, better decision making, and more productivity.
Read more on Health, Psych & Addiction.
Image credit: jespahjoy/Flickr
I’m going to remember this next time i debate to take a nap! thank you 🙂