“Health Benefits of Napping”

A Nap a Day? Napping isn’t just for babies. Studies show that an afternoon nap is great for adults, too. There’s no need to feel lazy for indulging in daytime sleep. A short nap in the mid-afternoon can boost memory, improve job performance, lift your mood, make you more alert, and ease stress. Cozy up to these nap benefits.

It Can Improve Your Memory: Studies have shown that sleep plays an important role in storing memories. A nap can help you remember things learned earlier in the day as much as a full night’s sleep. Napping works to keep you from forgetting things like motor skills, sense perception, and verbal recall, too.

You May Be Able to Connect the Dots Easier: Not only can napping help you remember things you’ve just learned, but it could help your brain draw connections between things you find out. In one study, nappers found it easier to put together information they got earlier in the day.

It Might Help You Climb the Corporate Ladder: When you do a task over and over throughout the day, your performance gets worse as the day goes on. Studies show that a nap can help keep you more consistent.

It May Lift Your Mood: If you’re feeling down, try taking a nap to lift your spirits. Napping, or even just resting for an hour without falling asleep, can brighten your outlook. Experts say relaxation that comes from lying down and resting is a mood booster, whether you fall asleep or not.

Need to Be More Alert? Nap - If you start to feel a bit sleepy right after lunch, you’re not alone. The post-lunch struggle is real. A 20-minute nap can help you battle heavy eyelids.

Small Naps Bring Big Benefits: A nap as short as 10 minutes can be beneficial, but keep your nap to 30 minutes or less so you don’t wake up feeling more tired. That grogginess you can feel after a nap is called sleep inertia. The longer you nap, the more likely you are to have that feeling. The worse it is, the more time you’ll need to wake up and transition back to work.

Naps are Better Than Caffeine: If you’re feeling tired but have work or studying to get done, you may be better off taking a nap than sipping a coffee. Compared to caffeine, napping can bring better memory and learning.

Long Night Ahead? A Nap Can Help - If you know you won’t get much sleep for a night or two (due to travel, for example) you’re better off preparing with a nap ahead of time than powering through with caffeine. The longer the nap, the better. If you have to resort to caffeine, drinking small amounts often is better than one large cup of joe.

They Can Ease Stress: If you’re under a lot of pressure, a nap can release stress and improve your immune health. Experts believe that a 30-minute nap can do the trick.

They're Good for Your Heart: A nap can even help your ticker. A study found that people who napped for 45 to 60 minutes had lower blood pressure after going through mental stress. So a nap can help your body recover from pressure-filled situations.

They Can Make You More Creative: Ever wake up with a great idea? REM sleep, which typically starts 70 to 90 minutes after you fall asleep, activates parts of your brain associated with imagery and dreaming. A nap with REM sleep can help you combine ideas in new ways to come up with answers.

Naps Can Help You Sleep Better at Night: Although it may seem illogical, taking a nap during the day can help older adults improve sleep at night. Studies show a 30-minute nap between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. combined with moderate exercise, like a walk and stretching in the evening, helps improve nighttime sleep. Mental and physical health can get better, as well.

They Can Help Your Little Ones, Too: Many preschool-age children stop napping long before they enter kindergarten. Fact is, naps are critical for learning and development at that age. Children who nap regularly are better able to recall things they learned. Since short-term memory stores are limited at that age, younger kids need more frequent sleep. It’s an important part of how the brain hangs on to memories.

Make Them a Habit: While certain benefits of napping can be had by anyone, there's some evidence that naps only improve certain types of learning when the person takes them regularly. This includes the ability to tell the difference between similar things like images or textures.

When Should You Nap? To get the most benefits out of a nap, you need to time it right. Most people will find an afternoon snooze to be the most natural and helpful. Some say sleep is better between 2 and 3 p.m., when humans naturally have a dip in alertness. The time that works best for you will depend on how rested you are to begin with. If you’re well-rested, a slightly later nap is better. If you’re behind on sleep, you’ll want to nap earlier.

Reviewed by: Nayana Ambardekar, MD on June 16, 2018

IMAGE PROVIDED BY: Getty

PLOS ONE: “Daytime Naps, Motor Memory Consolidation and Regionally Specific Sleep Spindles.”
Nature Neuroscience: “Sleep-dependent learning: a nap is as good as a night.”
Behavioural Brain Research: “Comparing the benefits of caffeine, naps and placebo on verbal, motor and perceptual memory.”
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory: “Daytime napping: Effects on human direct associative and relational memory.”
Journal of Vision: “Perceptual learning after a nap: The Mini-Me of Sleep.”
Perception: “Perceptual deterioration is reflected in the neural response: fMRI study between nappers and non-nappers.”
Psychophysiology: “Napping versus Resting: Effects on Performance and Mood.”
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences: “The effects of a 20‐min nap before post‐lunch dip.”
Journal of Sleep Research: “The recuperative value of brief and ultra-brief naps on alertness and cognitive performance.”
Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine: “Good sleep, bad sleep! The role of daytime naps in healthy adults.”
Mayo Clinic: “Napping: Do's and don'ts for healthy adults.”
Sleep: “The use of caffeine versus prophylactic naps in sustained performance.”
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism: “Napping Reverses the Salivary Interleukin-6 and Urinary Norepinephrine Changes Induced by Sleep Restriction.”
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine: “Daytime sleep accelerates cardiovascular recovery after psychological stress.”
National Institutes of Health: “What is REM Sleep?”
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: “Dreams and creative problem-solving.”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: “REM, not incubation, improves creativity by priming associative networks.”
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences: “Short naps and exercise improve sleep quality and mental health in the elderly.”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: “Sleep spindles in midday naps enhance learning in preschool children.”
Journal of Vision: “Individual differences in sleep-dependent perceptual learning: Habitual vs. non-habitual nappers.”
Journal of Sleep Research: “Benefits of napping in healthy adults: impact of nap length, time of day, age, and experience with napping.”
National Sleep Foundation: "What’s The Best Time Of The Day To Nap?"

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2Live

The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

The contents of the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites ("Content") are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites!

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Sites. Reliance on any information provided by WebMD, WebMD employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of WebMD, and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine or other visitors to the Sites is solely at your own risk. 

“Is the 80/20 Diet for You?”

What Is It? The idea is simple: Eat healthy meals 80% of the time, and have more freedom with the other 20%. But how it’s done and how it will affect your weight can be different for everyone.

The 80%: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s federal diet guidelines can help you build a roster of “healthy” meals. The basic principle is to make half your plate fruits and vegetables, and change them up often. The rest of your plate should be whole grains and lean protein with a serving of low-fat dairy, like milk or yogurt, on the side. Try to limit saturated fat and added sugars.

The 80%: Vegetables - Add fresh, canned, or frozen ones to salads, or have them as side dishes or even entrees. Look for lots of different colors, which mean lots of different nutrients. You can steam, sauté, roast, or grill them to change the flavors and find what you like best. Just watch the extra calories and salt in oils and sauces. Most adults should get around 2 ½ to 3 cups a day.

The 80%: Whole Grains - Look for these to be listed first on prepared foods like bread. Or go straight to the source with oatmeal, popcorn, farro, quinoa, or brown rice. Try to limit snacks, cakes, and cookies made with refined grains like white flour, though. They can spike your blood sugar. Adults should get around 3 ounces of grains a day (about 3 slices of bread or 1 ½ cups of rice).

The 80%: Dairy - Go with fat-free milk, yogurt, soy, and nut milks to cut back on saturated fat. When you do have dairy fat, keep it to a minimum with low-fat versions of sour cream and cheese. Most adults should aim for around 3 cups of dairy a day.

The 80%: Protein - Beef, chicken, and pork are fine, especially when they’re low in fat, but it’s better for your health to mix it up a bit. Fish, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, soy, and eggs add a variety of tastes for your palate and nutrients for your body. Adults should get 5 to 6 ounces of protein a day, including about 8 ounces of seafood each week.

The 20%: After you’ve eaten healthy most of the week, it’s time to enjoy yourself -- within reason. You might have onion rings as a splurge at lunch, or an ice cream treat for dessert. But keep in mind that overdoing it can send all your hard work out the window.

‘Cheat Days’ Approach: With this, you specify a couple of days each week to indulge a bit. But try not to think of your meals as “punishment” or “rewards.” It’s best to enjoy and embrace both your healthy meals and the special treats.

Calories Approach: If you’re trying to lose weight, you might want to be a little more specific and splurge for 20% of the recommended number of daily calories. For example, if your goal is 1,800 calories a day, you might have 360 more calories two days a week.

Mixed Approach: Here, instead of that double bacon cheeseburger and soda that you only get once in a while, you fold treats into everyday eating. Sprinkle a little sugar on your grapefruit in the morning. Have some fresh whipped cream and berries for dessert. It’s a way to enjoy eating every day and keep a positive attitude toward food.

Can It Help You Lose Weight? Because the 80-20 diet features a healthy, balanced diet with a few splurges, it may help you shed a few pounds if you use it to cut down on fattening foods and watch your calories. Any time you burn more calories than you take in, you’re likely to lose weight.

Exercise Is Important, Too: If you’re trying to lose weight, dieting alone usually isn’t enough to get you where you want to be. To help your body burn more calories than you take in, aim for 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Weightlifting or pushups help build muscle, which burns calories all day long. If you can’t hit the gym, a walk around the block at lunch is a good way to get moving.

Make It Personal: We’re all different. Some people enjoy a little freedom at the end of the week, while others would rather indulge a little every day. Just make sure to talk with your doctor or a dietitian about whatever you decide. Your age, sex, weight, and activity level all play a part in what’s a healthy diet for you.

Medical Conditions: Another reason to talk with your doctor: The 80-20 diet isn’t right for everyone. Certain diseases can get worse if you eat a lot of salt, fat, or sugar, even once in a while, so splurge meals can be a bad idea for some people. For example, if you have diabetes, sugar spikes could damage your eyes, kidneys, nerves, or heart. Never start anything before consulting your physician.

Reviewed by Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD on October 04, 2018

Sources:


ChooseMyPlate.gov: “Find Your Healthy Eating Style & Maintain It for a Lifetime,” “All About The Protein Foods Group,” “All About The Vegetable Group,” “All About The Dairy Group,” “All About The Grains Group.”
Calorie Control Council: “Get Moving! Calculator.”
Elizabeth Ward, registered dietitian; former spokesperson, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Harvard School of Public Health: “Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar.”
Mayo Clinic: “Hyperglycemia in diabetes.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: “2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2Live

The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

The contents of the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites ("Content") are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine Sites!

If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. WebMD and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Sites. Reliance on any information provided by WebMD, WebMD employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of WebMD, and Self-Care With Dr. Shermaine or other visitors to the Sites is solely at your own risk.