|  | Family Health | Health Care

List of the Benefits of Taking a Nap

If you find yourself getting sleepy before noon, put your head down and take a nap. A 45-minute nap during the day can boost memory performance, reports the Harvard Medical School's Center for Sleep and Cognition in a 2008 study. Napping is beneficial because it gives your body time to decompress, renews stores of energy and improves motor performance.

  1. Boosts Performance

    • Napping for as little as 15 to 20 minutes a day helps to boost your performance at work. Fatigue robs you of the energy and motivation required to do your job at optimal efficiency. If at work you perform duties vital to public safety, such as in law enforcement, driving, health care or piloting, you must stay alert. A study by Alertness Solutions, a sleep study center, found that pilots for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration who took short naps saw a 34 percent increase in performance and a 54 percent increase in alertness for the next three to four hours.

    Increases Decision-Making

    • A 30 to 60-minute nap -- known as slow-wave sleep -- can help increase the brain's ability to make decisions. Though this is not a deep sleep, it is enough time for the brain to reset itself, helps with short-term memory and enhances the ability to remember directions. Napping for 60 to 90 minutes increases your brain's capability to tackle creative problems.

    Decreases Heart Attack Risk

    • Naps restore your energy levels by giving your body a chance to recuperate. If you work in a physically taxing job such as construction or landscape maintenance, replenishing your energy may help increase productivity. When your body is rested, stamina levels increase, allowing you to work for longer periods of time. There may also be some cardiovascular benefits to napping. Societies that practice regular napping experience a 37 percent decrease in heart-related deaths, according to the Archives of Internal Medicine's 2007 study.

    Reduces Stress

    • Naps are also beneficial because they put your body in a state of relaxation, which helps ease stress. When you experience stress, physical symptoms include muscle ache, headache, tremors, heartburn, breathing problems, chest pain and an accelerated heartbeat. Businesses have taken note, and some now offer relaxation rooms or equipment to help manage employee stress. Nike makes quiet rooms available to employees to take power naps or to meditate. Google employees who work in the company's Mountain View, California, headquarters have access to napping pods. Manufacturers have started producing nap chairs with ergonomic support and noise-canceling headphones. These chairs are sold to companies such as Procter and Gamble and Cisco Systems for use by employees.

Health Care - Related Articles