The physical and mental toll of continually rising early and going to bed late can lead to increased stress and burnout. But the truth is that for so many of us, this is part of our normal routine. We’ve either grown accustomed to dealing with the daily afternoon dip in our physical and creative energies or we’ve convinced ourselves that taking a quick nap is the sign of a slacker.
There really is no good reason, however, to go through our days exhausted, depleted and stressed out. Especially when there are so many fine reasons why a simple nap could prevent all of that and more. Here are a few good reasons why you should definitely take a nap today.
Napping Boosts Your Energy
By far, the greatest benefit of a daily nap is the boost in energy that it provides. For many people, it is natural for their energy to dip dramatically in the mid afternoon. This can translate to a lag in productivity and creativity. The fogginess that one experiences when one is very tired, especially after a nice lunch, can contribute to mistakes and misunderstandings. But after a nap anywhere from five minutes up to thirty minutes, your body has a chance to rest and recharge, giving you a refreshed feeling afterward.
Napping Boosts Your Memory
Numerous studies have shown that a nap of only twenty minutes can help clear the brain of overwhelm and increase the ability to remember information over the long term. Napping can also help increase your overall alertness throughout the day.
A Nap is a Good Excuse To Take a Break
Over the course of your work day, how many times do you remember to give yourself a break? If you are like most people, you let yourself get wrapped up in your work and end up working through most of the day. Everyone needs to take a break now and then, if for no other reason than to maintain your edge.
If you are worried that taking a nap means that you have to commit to a full thirty minutes or more in order to reap any benefits, then you’ll be happy to know that even mini naps of two to five minutes are known to provide the same benefits as longer naps. So, if you can only squeeze in a mere ten minutes of rest a day, you can still take a nap.
Napping Helps You Refocus
Falling asleep, even for a few minutes, is plenty of time for your mind to refocus itself. This can do wonders for your productivity for the rest of the day. It’s a good way to avoid burning out from constant activity.
If napping has not caught on as an acceptable activity around your workplace, there are ways to get around that. If you don’t want to risk someone walking in on you mid snooze, think about visiting your car on your lunch break. The back seat can become your own quiet, private getaway.
Napping Helps You Reduce Your Stress
Our bodies naturally work to replenish our energy any time we sleep. This is critical to our mental and physical well being. And honestly, why fight it? Rather than dragging yourself through the afternoon, dreading every minute, just take a few minutes to treat yourself to a little recharge. Your mind and body will be much better for it. Not convinced? Try an experiment. For two weeks, take a nap every day. At the end, if you don’t feel less stressed and more energetic and focused, then you’ve lost nothing.
