Taking an afternoon nap, as many cultures around the globe recommend, is proven scientifically to improve the brain faculties, especially the memory and decision-making part.
An afternoon nap, which is mostly part of those old practices that our grandmothers imparted to us, has been endorsed by science as being advantageous for the brain.
Typically following a meal, such as lunch, these breaks that range from 5 minutes to half an hour or one hour affect the brain, particularly memory and decision-making capability of the brain.
A study done indicated that people who have the practice of taking short afternoon naps show enhanced memory, focus, and clarity of thoughts.
This was established in the findings of a study that was conducted and published in the journal Sleep and showed that taking a 15-minute nap after lunch improved the participants’ levels of alertness, performance, and autonomic function.
However, another study showed that people who sleep for more than 60 minutes experienced no such positive effects, and in some cases, they even felt sleepy or suffered from sleep inertia—an undesirable state when a person wakes up with a basic difficulty concentrating or a low mood.
Strangely, these short naps are seen by researchers as beneficial for helping to remove information overload in a person’s working memory so there is room again to encode new information.
Also, napping prevents stress and enhances feelings, hence improving the health of the human brain.
Dr. Sunita Nagpal, Senior Gynecologist and Practitioner, Salubritas Medcentre, said that napping has advantages but has its own demerits also.
The right timing was supposed to be in relation to your internal circadian rhythm. The best seems to be between the period of 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm. or 5.30 pm, mid morning to early afternoon, by Dr. Nagpal.
