The Effects of Napping: Nap or Naur

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Everyone naps, from babies to elders. It’s a great way to feel refreshed before completing a big task or going somewhere. In some Asian countries, napping is very encouraged, so encouraged that it is deemed acceptable to sleep at work. But that raises the question: how bad or good is napping for you? 

The Ups and Downs of Napping

Naps can be beneficial for your mind and body. This is because they can help reduce stress, like a midday break. Since naps help you feel refreshed, they can also act as mood enhancers. In addition to those, they can help you focus more and learn better because they are memory boosters. 

In a Johns Hopkins Medicine study, researchers examined 2,974 people, where 60% of participants napped after lunch for about an hour. These researchers then found that participants who napped for 30-90 minutes had better memory than people who didn’t nap or napped for longer than 90 minutes. 

This study shows that while napping can benefit you, it can also have some downsides. Too much napping can be harmful because it leads to poor sleep at night (when you should ideally get most of your sleep). 

When you’re getting poor sleep during the night, you take extensive naps, which repeats the cycle of poor-quality sleep. Poor quality sleep leads to grogginess and various cognitive problems, like the inability to remember things, concentrate, etc.

In the end, napping can benefit us, but can also be damaging. Keeping a balance is essential--napping can improve your day, but overdoing it may lead to negative effects.