SMART LIVING: National Napping Day

ORLANDO, Fla. (IVANHOE NEWSWIRE) - National Napping Day falls on Monday, March 13, and experts said napping isn’t just for the very young or very old.

Most people take a daytime siesta. A National Sleep Foundation poll found that almost a third of all adults nap regularly.

Napping doesn’t just energize people. Getting a daytime shuteye can be good for a person’s body and brain.

A mid-day nap can boost memory, improve job performance, lift someone’s mood, make a person more alert, and ease stress. The Cleveland Clinic also reports naps can speed up a person’s reaction time and improve someone’s logical reasoning, motor skills, sensory perception, and verbal recall.

“Sleep is the VIP service everybody needs,” said Leandre Schoeman, a certified sleep consultant. “It affects basically every area of our life.”

According to a recent study, power nappers who took a 15 to 20-minute nap three times a week improved their cardiovascular health. On the downside, those who napped for more than an hour had an increased risk of heart problems.

The National Sleep Foundation suggests the best time to nap is before 2 P.M. for about 20 minutes. However, a nap as short as 10 minutes can be beneficial. It is important to keep a nap to 30 minutes or less or a person may suffer from sleep inertia, which will have them waking up and feeling groggy instead of rested.

National Napping Day always falls the day immediately after the switch to daylight saving time.

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