Can a mid-day nap make up for a bad night’s sleep?

Sleeping too little can have negative consequences on your health

You know that post-lunch nap? It can also make you more alert for the rest of the day, depending on how long it lasts. But it won’t make up for a bad night’s sleep. Lack of sleep can have negative effects on your health.

First of all, it is important to remember that naps are periods in which we voluntarily let ourselves sleep, outside of the main sleep time, which occurs at night. It’s different from when that irrepressible desire to close your eyes arrives.

The human body requires on average 6 to 8 hours of rest per day to relax and restore itself, depending on age. Meanwhile, the body performs a variety of functions, such as repairing tissue, building muscles, resting the brain, and synthesizing proteins. When we don’t sleep enough, the body is unable to perform all its recovery functions, resulting in cognitive difficulties.

Sleep Day: Can’t sleep well? 6 tips to help you

And a nap can help too, according to a study from the NUS Medicine Center for Sleep and Cognition. According to research, taking a short 30-minute nap can increase productivity and improve memory.

But researchers at the University of Michigan’s Sleep and Learning Laboratory are adamant that while a quality nap helps reduce the effects of a bad night’s sleep, especially for those who manage to reach the phase between light sleep and that deep, naps will not completely remove the effects and restore the sleep deficit.

It is important to remember that it makes no sense to add nap time to your nightly sleep hours, because there are different sleep phases. And the time it takes to reach them varies from person to person.

Sleep stages

Sleep is divided into two main phases: “non-REM” (when there are no rapid eye movements during sleep) and “REM” (when there is this type of eye movement).

The “non-REM” phase, in turn, includes three phases, ranging from the most superficial to the deepest sleep. In the case of “REM”, the human body plunges into a deeper sleep, which allows the body to relax completely.

Impacts of lack of sleep

The human body needs sleep to recover. And lack of a good night’s sleep can contribute to conditions such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, memory problems and depression. In case of insomnia, the best solution is to always consult a doctor who specializes in the area, as he or she will help induce sleep through different techniques.

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.