For a long time, napping has been considered as a ‘waste of time’ and was regarded an activity that has no real health benefits.

However, new studies have revealed that napping has great health benefits for people of all ages (not just the elderly/young children!).

Napping throughout the day is not only great for your health but has many mood-boosting properties that can help you in all aspects of your daily life from work, exercising and your overall mood.

Here are 5 reasons why daytime napping is great for you.

Daytime Napping Benefits

Napping restores alertness

Not every nap has to result in sleep inertia (the feeling of grogginess when you wake up from a deep sleep).

Taking a quick snooze for 20-30 minutes has been proven to increase your alertness and enhances performance. Maybe falling asleep at your desk isn’t that bad after all!

NASA conducted a test on sleepy pilots/astronauts where they measured the before and after performance and alertness level. After a 40 minute nap, the pilots and astronauts’ performance had increased by 34% and their alertness had a massive 100% increase.

Improves creativity and productivity

When you’re asleep, the right-hand side of your brain is busy working away. This is the side of the brain that is related to creative thinking. Just a 30 minute nap was shown to boost the performance of workers in a study conducted by Harvard University and many of the world’s most creative people were known to regularly take daytime naps.

Leonardo DiVinci is one of the world’s most avid lovers of daytime napping and took the opportunity of multiple siestas throughout the day. Eleanor Rosevelt napped to increase energy before public speaking and Winston Churchill believed that an afternoon nap helped him to get twice as much work done per day. Not bad for a simple power nap!

Sleeping improves memory

In the book “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child”, Marc Weissbluth explains that sleeping throughout the day is especially great for children. Napping throughout the day gives kids the chance to rest whilst their brain is still hard at work. The time in which we sleep is the time the brain consolidates memories, and as little as 12 minutes of napping time per day can help you remember things much better. Health Benefits of Daytime Napping   Professor Alex Mecklinger says that, “A concentrated period of learning followed by a short relaxing sleep is all that’s needed”. So, if you’re struggling to remember what you had for tea last night, take a nap. You’ll soon remember!

Lowers blood pressure

A study by the Archives of Internal Medicine has revealed that people who take a midday nap at least 3 times per week are 37% less likely to die from heart disease. Sleeping is known to lower blood pressure, which in turn makes you less likely to suffer from a serious coronary disease. There is no time like the present to turn off your phone and crawl into bed – it really is worth it! Childhood sleeping habits

Improves your general mood

Not every nap has to result in a feeling of grogginess and tiredness. Taking a nap of 25 minutes has been proven to significantly improve your overall mood, which is possibly contributed to by an increase in alertness. Anxiety levels drop and feelings of calmness wave in once your body has had time to relax and rejuvenate; another reason why you feel so productive post-nap.   The time you spend napping may be short but the effects of regular daytime napping will benefit you for a lifetime. Grab yourself a comfy made-to-measure mattress and nap away knowing that you’re doing great things for your body!