The power of the nap

You can have too much of a good thing, but there are many benefits of a 20-minute nap during the day, writes Flic Everett.

If anything about the pandemic has been positive, it is the rise of the nap. Freed from office life, many adopted the siesta, snoozing after lunch and working slightly later to compensate.

Advocates swear by its restorative and moodimproving benefits.

In fact, napping has gained so much positive press, global firms, including Google, Nike and Ben & Jerry’s, now provide ‘‘sleep pods’’ with soothing soundscapes or dedicated napping spaces at their headquarters for staff.

It all sounds perfect. For me, however, I cannot nap. Going to bed during the day reminds me of being 6, off schoolwith mumps, listening to the distant shouts of other children having fun while the day slips away inmy bedroom. I don’t sleep, I just lie on the bed feeling hot and irritable.

I can’t nap on public transport. Aside from the fear of snoring and drooling in front of other commuters, nothing about that noisy, rattly experience induces sleep. I once spent a 12-hour night plane journey wide awake and itchy-eyed while the rest of the cabin snored.

It seems, however, that I am missing out – not just on restorative rest when needed, but on a creativity boost, too. A recent study from the Institut du Cerveau (Paris Brain Institute) tested volunteers by giving them a task with a hidden shortcut to completion.

A group then rested for 20 minutes in a darkened room, meaning the early ‘‘light’’ stage of sleep was the focus. After napping, 83 per cent of the subjects found the shortcut, compared to just 31 per cent who stayed awake.

On average, the successful short-cutters had ‘‘napped’’ for just one minute. Those who slept for longer had no creativity boost.

‘‘The first stage of sleep is a hybrid state between wake and sleep, potentially providing the best of the two worlds for creativity,’’ says Delphine Oudiette, the study’s author.

‘‘It is associated with rich, spontaneous, dreamlike experiences [called hypnagogia], which could be what is causing the idea generation.’’

Another study, from China, published in General Psychiatry journal, found that an afternoon nap improved mental flexibility and led to better locational awareness, verbal fluency, and working memory in older people.

‘‘Napping is very common, and increasingly so as we get older,’’ says Dr Deborah Lee, sleep expert for Dr Fox online pharmacy. ‘‘In one study, 22% of adults admitted to napping at least two days a week, but for over-75s this rose to 53%.’’

However, a study that recentlymade headlines, led by the University of California, San Francisco and HarvardMedical School, revealed napping could also be a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. After diagnosis, they also found the frequency of napping ‘‘accelerates rapidly’’.

The research backs up a 2019 study that

Your nap should finish at least six hours before you intend to go to bed and should be no more than an hour, maximum.

discovered that oldermen who napped for longer than two hours daily had a greater chance of cognitive impairment as they age. But it is not all bad news.

‘‘Many studies show that napping is good for brain function,’’ Lee says. ‘‘In a 2021 review, napping was shown to improve cognitive function and alertness, and these improvements lasted for two hours after waking.’’

In a further Harvard study, participants who napped regularly showed a 37% risk reduction in dying from cardiovascular diseases, partly because napping helps to relieve stress. For men, the difference was even starker.

Male nappers reduced their risk of heart problems by up to 64 per cent. One Nasa study even found a 40-minute nap improved astronauts’ alertness by up to 100 per cent, and had a dramatically positive effect on performance.

‘‘Napping is also the perfect antidote to irritability caused by fatigue,’’ says Charlie Morley, author of the book, Wake Up to Sleep.

‘‘The amygdala is the part of the brain that deals with threat and irritation,’’ he says.

‘‘After a sleepless night, it becomes a huge 60% more reactive. This iswhy you’re so snappy when you’re tired. A short nap can greatly reduce that reactivity.’’

But how long shouldwe be napping during the day? Nap haters like me cite grogginess and disorientation, and feel it ruins their sleep at night. ‘‘Your nap should finish at least six hours before you intend to go to bed and should be no more than

Plan your nap, so you take it at lunchtime or early afternoon, in a quiet, private environment.

Set your alarm so you don’t sleep any longer than 30 minutes – 20 minutes is advised.

After your nap, wake up promptly and do something invigorating such as washing your face with cold water so you are fully awake. an hour, maximum,’’ Morley says. ‘‘Even a 20-minute restwithout sleeping can have brilliantly rejuvenating effects.’’

Dr Verena Senn, a sleep expert at Emma Sleep, also believes the ideal nap should last just 20 minutes.

‘‘That will give you an extra boost of alertness without succumbing to the grogginess often associated with oversleeping. Another feature of a good nap is that it is done in the right environment.’’ Senn says. ‘‘The best place for your naps is your bed. Napping elsewhere, such as the sofa, will not offer the same support for your back, neck and head.’’

It is all too easy to have a nap that leaves you feeling worse, according to the experts. ‘‘A ‘bad’ nap is a nap that is too long, or taken too late in the day,’’ Lee says.

Lisa Artis, deputy chief executive of The Sleep Charity, says: ‘‘Naps can give you as much energy as two cups of strong coffee, but the effects are longer-lasting.’’

However, she warns: ‘‘If you find yourself needing a nap most days, and a long nap at that, chances are you aren’t sleeping well, so it’s important to look at your sleeping patterns and consider consulting a GP, as there could be an underlying medical condition.’’ – Telegraph