Does napping have any impact on health?

The hot search "How exaggerated is Shanxi, the province of taking naps?" I believe everyone has seen it. Shanxi people are famous for taking naps! According to the "2022 China Healthy Sleep Survey White Paper", the proportion of naps in Shanxi is as high as 63.9%, ranking first in the country! When you stroll on the streets of Shanxi, the afternoon sun shines, and the whole city seems to have pressed the pause button. Even the dogs on the street obediently find a cool place to take a nap...

So, why do we need to take naps and does it have any impact on our health?

1. Napping is generally a beneficial practice

A nap, also known as a siesta or midday nap, is a short period of sleep taken during the midday or early afternoon. It has significant benefits for restoring energy, increasing alertness and productivity.

I read an article before that roughly summarized the content as follows: napping is an advantage . Basically, when our ancestors came down from the trees, we had to face the dilemma of a lack of shelter from the sun.

At noon, the sun is shining directly and the temperature is highest. At this time, sleep can slow down our metabolic rate and avoid excessive energy consumption.

But this statement is just for reference. But napping is generally a beneficial practice.

02. What are the benefits of taking a nap?

So what are the benefits of taking a nap?

1. Naps improve memory. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst once published an article in PNAS pointing out that naps can help preschool children consolidate what they learned in the morning and help improve their memory .

**Second, naps help lower blood pressure. **Another study from Allegheny College found that naps can help lower blood pressure , especially for those whose blood pressure is elevated due to work stress.

03. How long is the appropriate length for a nap?

So how long is the appropriate length for a nap?

Generally speaking, the solid line part in the picture is most suitable for a brief nap, which will make people feel refreshed. The time is 5-15 minutes, no more than 30 minutes.

If you sleep too much and enter a short nap, you will feel very tired. In addition, it is normal to feel sleepy after a meal because the blood sugar concentration increases.

In fact, the most important reason

04. Let’s talk about the overall sleep duration

Finally, I like the following chart for overall sleep. The dark blue in the middle represents the recommended sleep time . Light green is also appropriate , but orange is not .

Take the top tier, older adults, for example , which are people over 65 years old.

The optimal sleep time is dark blue: 7-8 hours.

If the sleep time is in the light blue part, that is, 5-6 hours or 9 hours , it is also OK .

If the sleep time is in the orange part , such as less than 5 hours or more than 9 hours , it is unreasonable .