We often times underestimate the power of what a nap can do for us after we have been running around all morning without rest or a break to catch our breath.
If you are able to find a little bit of down time out of your very busy day, you'd be surprised what else a nap could do for your mental as well as physical health.
It is important that we treat our bodies right and allow it the chance to rest whenever we have the time to lay down and shut our eye's.
Here are some of the amazing benefits that come with taking a nap every single day!
1. Helps With Exercise
Napping may seem like the opposite of what you would think it would do for our physical experience when it comes to exercise. However, naps restore the spent energy that you have already exuded throughout the morning as well as mid-day.
Not only do you replenish spent energy but you are also improving your motor reaction skills that help you speed through your workout.
2. Moderates Food Cravings
Napping also gives us the ability to moderate our excessive food cravings that we have throughout the day.
As a consequence to our body when we are lacking sleep, we are constantly snacking on things to keep our energy levels high so that we do not pass out while standing up.
So, if you are feeling like you need to snack to keep yourself awake, consider taking a power nap instead. Your body will love you tremendously for it.
3. Reduces Anxiety
Naps are a perfect way for us to extremely reduce our anxiety as well as our stress. If you do not get enough sleep, your body will begin to develop a lot more cortisol in your system which can make you feel very on edge.
Naps are able to reduce the amount of cortisol that is pumped through our bodies and allow you to feel a lot more rested, relaxed, and refreshed. No more stress for you!
4. Improves The Health Of Your Heart
Napping has the capability of improving the healthiness of your heart. According to a Harvard study, they were able to show that subjects who napped frequently had a much lower risk of them developing any kind of cardiovascular problems in the future.
To assure this kind of success, it is important that you take a half hour nap in the mid-afternoon for about three times a week.
5. Improves Brain Functionality
More importantly, naps improve the functionality of our brains. Just by giving yourself a little power nap, you are letting your brain take it easy from thinking, from stressing, from overexerting itself, and much more that your brain goes through on a daily basis.
According to this study, results showed that people who took a 60-90 minute nap were able to increase their mental performance as well as increasing their mental capacity for 24 hours afterward.
There is a lot that can be said about napping, however, it is important to keep in mind that your brain needs a rest every now and then. Going full throttle from six in the morning until who knows when at night, your brain tends to get stressed very easily.
Let yourself rest when you can, take a nap, shut out the noise of the world around you, and drift off into a blissful slumber. source