Here’s Why You Should Take A Nap At Least Once A Day

1. It will boost your mood

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A nap can lift your spirits when you're feeling a bit down. If you can take some time out of your day for a nap, you will be more relaxed and this can be a huge boost to your mood. Any anxieties or worries will be lessened when you wake up which will allow you to have a different outlook.

2. It will make you more alert

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The post-lunch drowsiness is real. You are not alone. Having a short nap after lunch can make you feel more alert and ready to take on the rest of the afternoon. You will get more work done and feel much more productive and rewarded because of it. It's a win win.

3. It can improve your memory

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From studies we know that sleep plays an important part in storing your memories. So a nap can help you remember short term things, like what you learnt that morning. It can have as much effect as a full nights sleep and will also help you with long term memory.

4. Your brain will work more efficiently

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Napping can improve the cognitive function of your brain. This means that you are able to connect dots quicker and solve problems better. It will allow you to process and understand things more efficiently which will help you get your work done quicker. It might even boost your grades!

5. Shorter naps are the best

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You will get the biggest benefits from the shortest naps. Even as short as 10 minutes can leave you feeling energised. The biggest key is not to wake up feeling groggy. Sleep inertia is when you wake up feeling worse than when you went to sleep and it's more likely to occur with longer naps.

6. You will digest your lunch better

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Having a nap after eating your lunch can help to improve your digestion. This can be a great benefit if you suffer from IBS or any other bowel related conditions. Digesting better means no unpleasant trips to the toilet. A great reason to nap! They think this might be due to your led down position for napping.

7. You'll be fitter when you wake up

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Some studies have shown that your physical performance can improve after a nap. So if you're aiming for a PB out on the tracks then maybe a nap before hand is worth a try! It can improve your endurance and reaction times, also your cognitive performance which will all give you a better performance in exercise.

8. Naps are better than coffee

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Everyone reaches for a coffee or any other forms of caffeine when they are tired and in need of a pick-me-up. Naps might actually be better for you than caffeine. It can make you feel more awake, but also give you other benefits like better memory and concentration for learning.

9. It can help you feel less stressed

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Naps will automatically relax you and relive stress. So if you are feeling a bit stressed with work or school deadlines, why not take yourself off for a power nap. You will feel a lot better after it! A 30 minute nap could do the trick, according to experts.

10. It's good for your heart

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Napping has been shown to reduce the risk of any cardiovascular complications. One study has shown that people who napped for 45 to 60 minutes a day had lower blood pressure, even after a stressful situation. So this is a great thing for your future health, but also can help you manage future stressful situations better.

11. It will help you sleep better that night

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You might have thought the opposite, but it's true that naps can actually help adults improve their sleep at night. The quality of sleep you get at night will be better if you have had a short nap during the day. It can also be improved with light exercise like a walk or stretching.

12. Afternoon is the best time

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It has been show that the afternoon, between 2 and 3pm is the optimal time for a nap. This period will be when you have your dip, around 8 hours after you wake up, so will be the most helpful for you to get the most out of it. Although, everyone is different. If you are short on sleep you might find you want to nap earlier.

13. You won't get into a sleep deficit

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The effects of missed sleep can be detrimental to your health. You feel it the next day if you have lost the sleep the night before. If this becomes a pattern, you will build up a sleep deficit which will impair your cognitive function, reaction times and motivation just to name a few. Napping daily can prevent this.

14. Naps can make you more creative

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It's just like when a new idea comes to your in your dreams. You could wake up from your nap with an idea for the next best thing. It will need to be a longer nap as you need to get to REM sleep which can take around 90 minutes after you fall asleep, but will help you come up with some new ideas.

15. A nap is good preparation for a long night

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Having a nap in the day is a great way to prepare if you know you have a long night ahead or if you're going to be in a situation where you can't get much sleep. You can get your extra hours of sleep in before the event and in this situation, a longer nap is probably best.

16. Try having a coffee JUST before your nap

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It sounds so wrong, but it actually takes about 30 minutes for your body and brain to feel the effects of caffeine after ingesting it. So, if you have a coffee before napping, then take a short power nap, the boost of energy from the two combined will have you sailing through the rest of the day with no slowing down.

17. Naps are great for kids

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We all know kids nap, but it's not just because they're tired. Naps are very important for their learning and development as they will be better able to take in and remember things they learn. Short term memory is limited as a kid, so thats why they need more sleep and more frequently.

18. Regular naps give the best results

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Napping gives immediate benefits to anyone, but it's the people who do it regularly who reap the biggest rewards. Naps only really improve your learning or brain function if you do them regularly. It genuinely helps your brain improve in the long term, and who doesn't want that?

19. Bedrooms are the best place to nap

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Your bedroom is generally the best place to nap, as your bed is nice and comfort and you can get black out curtains or blinds to make it feel like night time. If you don't work from home it might be difficult to have you afternoon nap there, so some offices have nap pods you can use to get a quick forty winks.

20. You'll concentrate better in your lessons

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After a nap, you will be able to concentrate better on your lessons as you will be more awake and alert and your brain will be working more efficiently! This means you can actually take in what you're being told and not have to revisit your notes as much at a later date.

21. Your reactions will be quicker post nap

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Quicker reactions is yet another benefit of a quick, afternoon nap. Your reaction times will be better which will benefit you in many different ways. You are safer behind the wheel, you will excel in any sports you play after your nap and you will just generally function on a higher level to everyone else.

22. You will get through your to do list quicker

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Imagine how much more productive you will be in the afternoon if you weren't tired! A nap might be all you need to get stuff done. After a power nap, you will see benefits like increase productivity, meaning you can get all your tasks for the day done with time to spare and avoid them spilling over into the next day.

23. You might have more patience to deal with other people

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Due to the mood boost you get after napping, you will feel generally more relaxed which will make you more patient. This trait is one that not everyone possesses, so any increase in patience should be welcome. You will be less likely to snap at your work colleagues and will be more pleasant to be around.

24. It might help you get promoted at work

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If you have a job where you do the same task over and over throughout the day then studies have shown that your performance gets worse as the day goes on. If you have a nap during the day, your work performance will be better due to all the benefits we have listed. This will get you noticed by your boss and might even help you climb the ladder!

25. Your vision might even be clearer

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You know that tired feeling you get round your eyes when you have been staring at your computer for hours? Well, resting your eyes for 20 minutes while you nap will make them feel much better and give those muscles a break. Your vision might even be clearer because of it.

26. You will be less likely to get sick

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Napping can actually boost your immune system! You won't be as mentally exhausted if you regularly nap, as you are taking time out every day to relax. This has a great benefit on your physical health and a knock on effect to making you a generally healthier person and less likely to become ill in the future.

27. Keep it to 20 minutes

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With all the evidence put together, 20 minutes seems to be the optimal nap length and definitely no more than 30 minutes for a power nap. Those 20 minutes allow you to get some light sleep to reap all the benefits we have discussed, but not so long that you wake up feeling groggy.

28. Your food might taste better after

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Napping can heighten your sensory perception. Like you vision, your taste will benefit from a short, regular afternoon nap. You will thank us for this when your post-nap snack starts tasting much tastier than before! Same benefit goes for hearing and your other senses.

29. Your hormones will be more balanced

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Napping after your lunch can help regulate your hormones and keep them balanced. This is especially important if you are diabetic or suffer with any thyroid issues. It can also be a great benefit if you're naturally an overeater, as it will help stop you from becoming diabetic in the future!

30. You're less likely to burnout

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If you combine all the benefits we have talked about, then you know that a daily nap can help you become a healthier and happier person. If you take all of these away, then actually you could be on the road to burnout, since our culture now is that we are always on the go. Just a reminder to take some time out every day for yourself.