For some reason in American culture, napping is looked down upon. I personally have been ridiculed for taking a daily nap; but why? Who wouldn’t want an extra 20 minutes to 2 hours of sleep? Check out these reasons why you should stop stressing and start napping!
1. You’re probably not getting the 8 hours of sleep you need.
Little kids get to nap, so why can’t you? Life is hard, college is stressful, and a lot of the time you just aren’t getting the 8 hours of sleep you need in order to function. You can get a full sleep cycle in within 90 minutes of napping. If you’re looking for something less time consuming, even 20 minutes will help do the trick.
2. Napping makes you happy.
For those of you who don’t know what serotonin is, it’s an extremely important chemical in your brain that keeps you relaxed and happy. If you’re overtired, you’re probably stressed, which is making your serotonin levels even lower. A nice nap will leave you feeling refreshed, and completely refills your brain full of serotonin. So if you’re feeling down: nap. You’ll most likely feel a lot better.
3. Napping can improve your health
Another stress hormone in your body is cortisol; but when your body has too much of it, it can be damaging. Too much cortisol affects the way your body breaks down glucose, which causes not only the production of fat, but also weakens your immune system. This excess can lead to heart problems and other health issues. When you sleep (or in this case, nap) your body fights off the excess cortisol, which makes you less stressed and can even help you lose weight. Shedding some weight while sleeping sounds like a dream come true.
4. Napping can help improve your senses.
Believe it or not, a nap can increase your senses just as much as a full night of sleep can! Your senses become less sensitive throughout the day, but a nap can help this issue. After waking up from a nap, the world will seem brighter, music will sound better, and food will be even tastier.
5. Napping can help you remember more and burnout less.
Our society is always on the move, which is why a lot of people look down upon napping-- automatically deeming you lazy for doing it. Our bodies are NOT meant to overload on caffeine, burnout during the day, and then keep going with no breaks! People tend to get the most tired during the hours of 2-4 pm, when your inner circadian rhythm is rebooting. This means a nap is especially beneficial during these hours. A nap can help you restart and reboot your entire system. It will help your memory and cognitive functioning improve immensely! People who nap are also more emotionally stable.
It's time to STOP NAP SHAMING! Crawl into bed and get your nap on, you can thank me later.
