They say that nap is a habit original from Spain, but we do not know the authenticity of that data. What we do know is that currently is present in Southern European countries, Latin America, North Africa and to Asianas China, India or Taiwan, just to mention a few.
But what do we really call a nap? How many types of naps are there? Are they all benefits or does it also have its downsides and negative effects? Here we answer those questions and a few more.
What do we call a nap?
We call rest after lunch a siesta. That break will consist of taking a nap, which normally round between 20 and 30 minutes, but according to which people and according to the degree of fatigue that we have accumulated, can get up to 2 hours of sleep.
Hence we can classify the siesta into short or long. But are both equally beneficial? The short answer is no, but there are also meanings.
General benefits of napping
- Decreases that cardiovascular risks.
- Increase performance at work or study.
- Strengthens our alertness, having much more attention and a greater sense of reflection.
- Increase our ability to concentration.
- Reduce fatigue, fatigue, stress ...
- Improves mood.
- Release tensions and clears the mind of burdens.
Negative effects of napping
The short nap, that is, the one that we take for about 20 or 30 minutes at most, only brings benefits, specifically all those seen in the previous point. However, the longer the nap (1 or 2 hours), the more likely you are to feel the following negative effects:
- It can cause insomnia and worsen your quality of sleep at night.
- You may wake up disoriented or feeling groggy.
What is the ideal nap?
We can say then that the ideal nap and the one that we can practice daily if we have time for it, is the following:
- The one that lasts between 20 and 30 minutes.
- The one in which we lay with some support pillows.
- The one that we lay in one room in total silence and with little light or totally in the dark.
- The one that is done between 3 pm and 4 pm
- Throwing us a thin blanket over the top so as not to get cold but without covering ourselves or lying down completely as we do at night. If we do this, it will cost us more to get out of bed.
Therefore, and having said that, we recommend taking a daily nap with the aforementioned characteristics if you have time in your day to day because your body and your health will thank you in the long run.