Take a Nap, Get Smart

Can a quick snooze sharpen your mind?

By Cynthia Dermody
From Reader's Digest
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Benefits of Napping
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"If you can sleep in the middle of the day, you need it," says a sleep-disorder specialist at Henry Ford Hospital.
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You have a biological sleep need for X hours. If you can sleep in the middle of the day, you need it
Few of us get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night, and many who have time to nap don’t, for fear of spoiling nighttime sleep. But researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College say napping doesn’t make nodding off at night more difficult -- and it may sharpen the mind.

Researchers gave 32 adults thinking and memory tasks over a four-day period. On the third day, they were asked to try to nap between 2 and 4 p.m. For another four days, they skipped the nap but took the tests. On the day of the nap and the following day, they did better on the tasks, and the daytime snooze had no effect on nighttime sleep quality or quantity.

"You have a biological sleep need for X hours. If you can sleep in the middle of the day, you need it," says Dr. Thomas Roth, a sleep-disorders specialist at Henry Ford Hospital.

Not all of us can take a daily nap. Luckily, squeezing in a siesta on the weekend can also help, say the researchers.
From Reader's Digest - August 2005
 
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