All the benefits of napping: it also increases creativity

Il brain work better. Stress is reduced. And your mood improves. nap, the short and pleasant nap after lunch, is a real panacea for our health.

More and more scientific field research confirms an ancient idea that dates back many centuries: A nap after lunch is a tonic for our body in all respects.And this is not only true for the elderly, who have a physiological and natural need for it, but for people of any age. So much so that many companies, in the highly competitive Anglo-Saxon world, have equipped themselves with the nap room, the rooms for employees to rest.

Index of topics

Origins

The most probable origin of this word is from Latin pendicular. After lunch, also due to an effect linked to metabolism, the eyelids tend to droop, and the head hangs from one side to the other, until one moves on to a sonno even deep. The nap has begun.

Benefits

Il afternoon nap It breaks up the daily commitments, it is useful, it does good and it does not make us waste precious minutes but rather allows us to gain them in lucidity and freshness. I also had the healthy habit of taking an afternoon nap, unfortunately over the years I have given up on this. lifestyle, and I was wrong, wasting my health and time. Closing your eyes and abandoning yourself to the arms of Morpheus, even for a short time to rediscover lost peace, is a precious habit. An afternoon nap helps the brain rest, cleanse itself, and, in particular, makes room in the memory for new information to be stored. According to a study from University College London, napping also counteracts the reduction in brain volume that occurs with age.

Extends life

Nap advocates can celebrate the sensational results of a large-scale survey conducted in the United Kingdom. Based on a study of 400 people, there's no doubt: a nap prolongs life. In confirmation of the fact that the sleep It remains man's first medicine. Other studies have already shown an improvement in brain function thanks to napping, but this study takes the benefits a significant step further. According to Sleep Health, Anglo-Saxon researchers have found a correlation between the habit of napping and an increase in brain volume. This increase corresponds to a reduction of 2,5 to 6,5 years of aging.

Nap and stage 1 sleep

Stage N1 of sleep is the phase of falling asleep, lasts a maximum of ten minutes, and involves a significant slowing of brain activity. It is in this phase of sleep, typical of naps, that according to a study published in Scientific Reports, our lights turn on creativity, inspirations increase and solutions that were completely unexpected until then emerge.

Rest after lunch

One more reason, therefore, to take a nap after lunchThe latest research from Anglo-Saxon universities, where sleep is always studied a lot, tells us that naps increase by 40 percent our creativity and our physical and intellectual performance by 30 percent. Isn't that enough for you?

So, you should know that the siesta was a ritual and a way of life engraved in the habits of the Egyptians and Romans, who would invite friends over to share the pleasure of a nap. And in modern China, the nap, called xiu-xiu, is a right enshrined in the Constitution (Article 49), even though working conditions in many factories are still shameful today.

And meanwhile, the value of a nap is slowly being rediscovered, like many lifestyles from the past that we have forgotten and need to recover: Nearly 20 percent of U.S. companies have breakout rooms and 34 percent of Americans can do the nap at work. This practice is also spreading in Italy, as in the case of the two Microsoft plants that employ 900 people.

Does napping help you lose weight?

A false belief suggests that an afternoon nap can contribute to weight gain. This is false. If anything, in addition to the mental benefits, napping has a positive effect on the body, from mood to weight. An afternoon nap reduces blood cortisol levels, a hormone that increases stress, alters mood, and increases mood. pressure and creates the conditions for being overweight.

When to do it

Naps should be taken after lunch, between 13 and 15 pm. Earlier is too early, later is too late. Having the option of an afternoon nap doesn't mean, however, overdoing it with lunchtime meals, which should remain read and rich in fruit and vegetables, and low in fat.

How long should it last?

To take a nap, make yourself comfortable. Even in bed, not just in an armchair. But pay attention to the clock. A nap shouldn't last more than twenty to thirty minutes, otherwise its contraindications kick in. You alter your sleep-wake cycle and risk having trouble falling asleep in the evening. sleep well During the night. All the benefits of napping that we've seen depend on its duration: if it lasts less than half an hour, results are guaranteed. But if the nap lasts longer than an hour, it risks becoming counterproductive: it makes it difficult to fall asleep at night, and therefore worsens the quality of sleep; it increases the risk of obesity and diabetesMetabolic balances are disrupted. The risk of compromising nighttime sleep with excessively long naps is higher in the elderly. If you're prone to this, the solution is simple: set your alarm for your afternoon nap so that it goes off within half an hour.

Drowsiness

Napping doesn't necessarily mean you have to fall asleep. It can be enough to be conscious during the early stages of sleep and then doze off: this too is a restorative rest.

Famous people and naps

Finally, don't forget that there is a literature about characters, great characters, who couldn't give up their nap, and have always benefited from it. The actress Audrey Hepburn she said that her beauty was ensured by her habit of taking an afternoon nap, while the artist Salvador Dali He had a chair dedicated solely to this function, and Giulio Andreotti was one of the longest-lived politicians in the world thanks to the fact that he never gave up his after-lunch nap, followed by his morning coffee. My uncle, who lived to be 96, followed the same ritual.

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