Fatigue sometimes overtakes at the height of the working day, when it is so necessary to be in shape. If coffee, energy drinks and heroic efforts of will do not help, restoring a cheerful state will help… nap!
At first glance, this statement seems paradoxical. We tend to view daytime naps as lack of motivation and laziness. However, numerous scientific studies have proven the indisputable fact of the effectiveness of short naps in increasing energy, improving memory and concentration ability and the undeniable benefits of siesta for human health.
Siesta time falls on the decline of physiological activity
Everyone knows that the physiological activity of a person during the day is not even, but has its peaks and valleys.
Recessions occur in periods:
- from 2 am to 6 am – during this period, almost all living beings on the planet sleep. It is at this time that the guard “suddenly” falls asleep or the dispatcher “suddenly” loses his vigilance;
- from 13 to 16 hours – although this time is more related to the fact of eating, and not to the clock face.
Decrease in working capacity and lethargy in the afternoon period was inherited by us as a phylogenetic heritage – our primitive ancestors, having managed to get dinner, should have calmly digested it, and not being able to – keep looking for food.
After dinner, regardless of the type of activity, a person feels drowsiness and laziness, which, as studies by psychophysiologists at the University of Manchester show, are not whims and whims, but a necessity confirmed at a physiological level. The fact is that during these periods, the neurons responsible for maintaining the waking state cease to give the body signals that stimulate physical activity.
Desperate Housewives, Apple, Google and Siesta
Siesta should not be considered a luxury for housewives. The productivity benefits of a day off are so compelling that the world's most innovative companies like Apple, Nike, Google, Procter & Gamble, Cisco Systems, and many others set up rooms or nap pods for their employees.
This allows you to significantly increase the level of labor productivity, as well as the overall level of quality of life and employee satisfaction. Isn't this a source of inspiration and creativity? Tell your management about it.
What is the power of a siesta? Bonuses to the body and reboot of the brain
According to a large-scale study conducted by a team of scientists at the Athens Medical School, led by Dimitros Trichopoulos, people who regularly (at least three times a week) practice siesta have a 34% lower risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. The effect of siesta on the health of working men is especially indicative. Scientists explain this by saying that after-dinner sleep allows you to relax and reduces stress levels.
Director of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Harvard University (USA), Bill Anthony, who has been studying the daytime "anti-stress pause" for more than ten years, came to the conclusion that a siesta helps to reboot the brain, which makes it much easier and better to assimilate new information. Scientists suggest that the first phase of sleep (when the sleeper is not dreaming yet) is most important for stimulating the memorization of information. However, if we “sleep” until the next dreaming phase, the effect of “easy memorization” is leveled.
Daytime sleep significantly activates the cognitive functions of the brain: it stimulates creativity, improves concentration, increases the flexibility of thinking and reaction speed. Improvement in emotional state.
During sleep, the brain releases serotonin – a hormone responsible for mood. An increase in the level of this neurotransmitter gives a feeling of joy and satisfaction with life.
Ideal siesta length vs. brokenness
It is very important to choose the right time. The ideal time period for a daytime anti-stress "oversleeping" – from 13 to 16 hours. Falling asleep after 16.00 threatens with problems with a night's sleep. The optimal duration of daytime sleep should be either 10-30 or 90 minutes. This is due to the cyclical phases of sleep that each person goes through several times a night.
If we want to recover quickly, it's important to wake up from sleep before reaching the non-REM phase (ideally – 20 minutes after falling asleep). This will allow you not to feel "broken" after waking up. If we have 90 or more minutes, we can afford to sleep through all the phases that make up the full cycle, and wake up at its end, that is, after an hour and a half. This option will allow you to fully recover and renew, but it is difficult to do, because few people can afford an hour and a half lunch break.
Choose the time period that seems optimal to you. However, remember that sleep lasting more than 40 and less than 90 minutes negates all the positive effects of rest, as it is accompanied by the phenomenon of the so-called "inertial sleep", when a certain amount of time and energy will have to be spent on restoring vigor.
It is very important not to interrupt your rest in the stage of deep sleep – this is what provokes a feeling of lethargy and weakness.
How to sleep? Have you decided to check all the benefits of a siesta for yourself? It is important to learn how to do it right. Try to minimize light and sound stimuli.
Best sleeping position – horizontal. Scientists from Southwest University (Southwest University, China) compared the performance indicators of the studied three groups: those who did not sleep after dinner, slept for 20 minutes, bowing their heads on the table, and slept for the same 20 minutes, stretched out on a bed or sofa. The performance of the subjects of the last group was significantly higher than the other two.
If you – Beginning siesta adept, we advise you to set an alarm, because, as you know, oversleeping during the day often threatens with the opposite effect. Practiced according to all the rules, the afternoon anti-stress pause will bring you cheerfulness and restore strength.
Get maximum joy, energy and creative drive from this practice!
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