Monday, January 29, 2007
|
In our pathetically stressful hectic existence,
We should try to sleep more.
A lot more.
(No, I dun mean a 12-hour coma during the weekends)
If it’s impossible to do so,
Please take every opportunity to take naps once in a while.
Here’s 5 reasons to take naps
1. Increased Alertness And Productivity
The mid-afternoon dip in alertness and intellectual ability occurs, because “It seems Nature definitely intended that adults should nap in the middle of the day, perhaps to get out of the midday sun,” said William Dement, director of the Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center at Stanford University.
David Dinges, a sleep researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, found that “If you didn’t get enough sleep the night before, an afternoon nap will improve your alertness and give you a feeling of more energy, so you can take on more tasks”.
2. Less Stress
Curling up in a sunny patch on the floor or even lying your head down on your desk for a quick snooze brings relaxation.
So find a quiet, comfortable spot and take a nap. Even a short power nap can leave you feeling refreshed, renewed, and more focused. Studies have shown that people who spent 30 minutes each day napping had one third less heart disease than those who didn’t nap.
3. Improved Memory And Learning
Naps aren’t just for the very young, old, and slothful. Daytime dozing may enhance a person’s capacity to learn certain tasks. That, at least, is the eye-opening implication of a new study in which college students were challenged to detect subtle changes in an image during four different test sessions on the same day.
Participants improved on the task throughout the first session, says psychologist Sara C. Mednick of Harvard University and her colleagues. The students’ speed and accuracy then leveled off during the second session. The scores of the participants who didn’t nap declined throughout the final two sessions. In contrast, volunteers who took a 30-minute nap after completing the second practice session showed no ensuing performance dips. What’s more, 1-hour nappers responded progressively faster and more accurately in the third and fourth sessions.
“Napping may protect brain circuits from overuse until those neurons can consolidate what’s been learned about a procedure,” says neuroscientist Robert Stickgold of Harvard Medical School, a coauthor of the new study.
4. Increased Coginitive Functioning
In a recent study, researchers at NASA showed that a thirty to forty-minute power nap increased cognitive faculties by approximately 40%! Tests carried out in one thousand volunteers proved that those who continued working without rest, made lower scores in
intelligence tests like the IQ test.
Also Dr. Sara Mednick (scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies) has found through MRIs of nappers that brain activity stays high throughout the day with a nap; without one, it declines as the day wears on.
5. Better Health
Napping in general benefits heart functioning, hormonal maintenance, and cell repair, says Dr. Sara Mednick who is at the forefront of napping research. A power nap, says Mednick, simply maximizes these benefits by getting the sleeper into and out of rejuvenative sleep as fast as possible.
Everyone, no matter how high-strung, has the capacity to nap. But the conditions need to be right.
Sleep Well!
|
|
|
小强's File |
24. (but acts 14)
Multi tasker / Multiple Personality.
Free Spirit.
Many preferences, Few dislikes.
One Weakness.
|
|
|
