We are a fan of naps, have had no dispute about them as they feel rhythmic and refresh us.
And we now know that research indicates they have a link to better brain and heart health and also improved cognition, creativity and memory. It has been found that interesting ideas pop up after a deep nap and 40% increase in creativity.
Per Charlene Gamaldo, professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the best nap times are between the hours of 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. due to a dip in alertness. And she says the ideal nap is 20 to 40 minutes. Others, including Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher at the University of California, Irvine, favor a longer nap. In her Nap Wheel explanation, she shares that a 90-minute nap at 1:30 P.M. is the “perfect nap.”
While relaxing into a nap, meditation or progressive muscle relaxation where you contract and relax muscles throughout your body while focusing on breathing can help make a nap more restorative.
A regular napping location can help the body learn to associate the location with daytime sleep. Some prefer a cool dark place to stimulate sleep, others choose a soft light that allows the body to know it’s still daytime.
Photo credit: Image by butti_s from Pixabay.
(Also take note of other ways that you find new ideas and a spark of creativity — naps are one of many routes.)