We know that the sleep It is a natural preparation of the body for the following day. According to science, the adequate amount of time for a healthy sleep varies between 6 and 8 hours. However, we know that there are days and days and, on some of them, we do not always have a good night’s sleep.
Whether we are anxious, distressed, worried or very tired, there are several reasons that can disrupt a good night’s sleep. Some people may simply not get enough sleep because they spend too much time tossing and turning. timeline from Instagram, TikTok or watching YouTube videos at night.
Regardless of the reason why you are not getting the appropriate amount of sleep, the next day awaits you and all the activities that involve it as well.
So now you may be wondering if that little nap at noon, after lunch, will really help you recover from a bad night’s sleep and give you the energy you need to keep going throughout the day. Read on to find out what experts have to say about it.
Does a nap compensate for deep sleep?
Sleep science researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Rebecca Spencer, says that midday sleep is very beneficial and can actually bring health benefits, but that, despite this, it is no substitute for a good night’s sleep.
If you’ve been working most of the day, are tired, and have a 30-minute break, a nap can be enough to revitalize your body. While it can’t replace a full night’s sleep, it can help your body stay strong for the rest of the day.
Molly Atwood is a clinical psychologist and researcher in Behavioral Sleep Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. On the subject, she states that:
“When you haven’t had a good night’s sleep, napping can really help improve things like reaction time and memory if you need to work.
And if you tend to work during the day, for example, a 20- to 30-minute power nap can restore alertness without leaving you feeling groggy or disrupting your sleep the next night.”
However, deliberately sleeping poorly, believing that a nap will solve all your problems the next day, is not a good idea. A study of US residents who do not get seven hours of sleep or do not have a daily sleep routine showed shocking results.
Diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, stroke and even mental, emotional and heart diseases are associated with incorrect sleep time.
This is because getting the right amount of sleep is important for the body and when we get insufficient sleep, we can develop health problems and put our well-being at risk. Check out the reasons for this below.
Sleep stages
Sleep has four stages, and the amount of time we spend in each stage is also important, says Rebecca Spencer. She explains that each stage (or sleep cycle) lasts about 90 minutes.
The first two cycles are light and relax the body’s muscles, slow down the heart rate, breathing and lower the basal temperature. The third stage is when deep sleep occurs, which works to rebuild and repair muscles, bones, body tissues and the immune system.
From this, you can already see the importance of ensuring a good night’s sleep, right? Finally, the last stage is called REM, when our eyes start to move quickly.
This is the time when we can dream and when we store our memories, regulate our mood and improve our learning ability.
Because of all these reasons, naps no are able to compensate for sleep stages and cannot replace what you have lost.
We may even have bad nights of sleep – this is very common – but when sleeping poorly becomes routine, we could be heading straight for a series of health problems.
Not sleeping properly affects our entire performance, so if you have a bad night and only nap for a few minutes during the day, you can become even more discouraged, confused and without energy.
After all, should I take a nap or not?
According to Atwood, naps can be essential for people with professions that work shifts, for example: watchmen, doctors, pilots, flight attendants or even for the elderly, who are constantly breaking the correct sleep cycle.
But one thing that has become popular among people is that naps longer than 30 minutes during the day interfere with sleep the next day. So, never exceed this limit if you need to nap!
The psychologist also advises that people with sleeping problems should seek out a doctor who specializes in the subject as soon as possible.
So, instead of resorting to medication, you will receive a treatment that helps you rebalance your sleep without always inducing it with substances.
Getting adequate rest is very important for anyone’s well-being. Therefore, if you haven’t been sleeping well, don’t wait for the situation to go on for too long until nothing can be done. See a specialist doctor as soon as possible!