Here we will go over five reasons taking a nap during the day can improve your productivity.
Despite what some may think, naps are not only for toddlers and the lazy. Taking a nap during the day is excellent for your health and productivity in many ways.
If you are exhausted, struggling to remember information, or feeling emotional, 15 minutes of shut-eye might be the answer you are looking for.
Let’s jump right in.
Table of Contents
1) Increased Memory and Learning
According to various research studies, taking a nap during the day will help your ability to retain knowledge and boost short and long-term memory. Some studies reported that napping for 45 minutes daily can increase cognitive ability and memory skills by up to five times the original amount.
If you are presented with a lot of information you need to remember, you can help solidify the information with a nap.
A 2010 Harvard study shows evidence that dreaming directly correlates to retaining knowledge. According to the study, dreaming helps the brain organize and store information.
2) Better Control Over Your Emotions
Your body releases various hormones when you are asleep; dopamine and oxytocin. are most notable for productivity.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in a person’s motivation, pleasure, and response to reward.
Oxytocin is a peptide hormone that plays a role in a person’s social bonding.
The increased dopamine and oxytocin released during a nap give you better control over negative emotions and social interactions. Additionally, you will wake up feeling motivated and ready to get work done.
3) Improves Physical Health
While sleeping, your body works hard to maintain healthy brain function and physical health. On top of maintaining these functions, your body is also working hard to heal any injuries, infections, or imbalances that are going on within your body.
Even the smallest amount of sleep is enough to repair issues like headaches or muscle strain.
So, if you are struggling to get through the day and be productive because you’re not feeling your best, a nap might be just what you need to carry on.
When we feel our best, we do our best, and getting some sleep is the best way to recover; that’s why many people choose to “sleep it off” when dealing with physical or mental discomfort.
4) Reduces Fatigue
One of the more apparent benefits of taking a nap is that it improves feelings of fatigue.
Being productive is pretty difficult when you are exhausted, and taking a nap can give you that refresher you need to keep going.
Research suggests that a 15 to 30-minute nap is the perfect amount of shut-eye for someone that needs to reduce fatigue during the workday. More than 30 minutes might be too long and leave you feeling even more tired.
If you are trying to be productive and can’t keep your eyes open, taking a nap while on a break will give you enough energy to get through until bedtime.
5) Stress Decreases
Whether you rest your eyes or actually fall asleep, the physical act of laying down for a nap will decrease your stress levels.
If you don’t have time to nap but are feeling stressed, just laying comfortably with your eyes closed will provide calming, meditative effects that bring you back to a mellow mood.
However, falling asleep for a while provides a heftier outcome for stress relief.
Research shows that those who take a daily fifteen-minute nap have half the amount of cortisol in their system than someone who does not nap.
Cortisol is a natural steroid hormone that serves many purposes like regulating blood pressure and the body’s stress response.
When you have less cortisol in your system, feeling stressed is harder to achieve.
Of course, productivity will increase as your stress levels decrease because you are not becoming overwhelmed as easily.
Wrap Up
To wrap things up, taking a nap throughout the day benefits your physical and mental health, which both directly relate to your productivity levels.
If you are tired, stressed, ill, emotional, or struggling to remember information, a power nap might be the answer.
Sometimes falling asleep for a nap is challenging, especially when you feel like you are being put on the spot and have to get back to being productive.
If you can’t fall asleep right away, try playing soothing music or smoking a relaxing cannabis strain which you can learn more about at marijuanadoctors.com.
Just remember, if you plan to nap during work, you will want to set the alarm, so you’re on time to go back to work. Being late won’t be too helpful to your productivity.
