Health is Wealth 101: Benefits of Taking a NAP

Love...love...love... to nap. I've been doing it for the past three years and wish i have done it longer. There is really a huge difference when you had a nap especially if you will have longer hours of work.. There is always this feeling of "good morning mood" after taking that nap and it really gives me the energy i need to keep me going... Now, little did i know that there are much more benefits we can get from taking a nap and I'm positive that it will inspire you and motivate you to snooze more often if possible... here's what i found...

INCREASES ALERTNESS. Studies have shown that you will be as alert and energetic for the second part of your days as you were the first. 20-30 minutes of nap is recommended to avoid feeling groggy or to interfere with nigh-time sleep. So if you have something planned to do after work, why not try napping instead of taking coffee or sodas.

IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY. Study demonstrated that a 30-minute nap boosted the performance of workers, returning their productivity levels like that in the morning.

PREVENTS BURNOUT. working long hours eventually will put our mind to burnout and as a result less productivity and more errors could occur. Studies have shown that a 30 minute nap can halt the decline in performance while an hour of nap will improved the performance even more.

HEIGHTENS YOUR SENSES AND CREATIVITY. According to napologist Sara Mednick, napping can improve your sensory perception as effectively as a night of sleep and your creativity by relaxing your mind and allowing new associations to form in it.

REDUCE HEART-RELATED CONDITION. When you sleep, you release growth hormone which is the antidote to cortisol. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. A study done in Greek found that a 30 minute nap done atleast three times a week will lessen the risk of dying from a heart-related condition by 37%. Working men on the other hand are 64% less likely to die of heart disease.

IMPROVES MOOD. When our bodies are stressed, we become irritable, depressed, overwhelmed, anxious and easily distracted, that is because higher levels of serotonin (regulates our mood, sleep, and appetite) are used and production of more is blocked. Napping bathes your brain with serotonin and therefore creating a more positive outlook.

SAVE MONEY. Replacing a cup of coffee, a bottle of soda or a pack of energy bar to a nap will not only boost your energy the natural and most effective way but you get to save the money for something much more important.


Now that you know what are the benefits we can get from napping, how about knowing WHO else is doing it? And they were not just ordinary people but a successful one.