Napping has become a regular part of my life, not because I'm the one catching zzz's (maybe one day…) but because my toddler naps every day at 12:30 p.m. Some parents are easygoing about their kids' nap schedules. I am not one of those parents. That's because if my toddler doesn't get his two-hour nap at 12:30 (yes, I know I am lucky he sleeps that long), he turns into a monster by mid-afternoon. Let's just say that if he doesn't nap, it's like the devil has taken over his body. There is nothing that won’t set him off. Water instead of apple juice? Screaming tantrum. Carrots sliced the wrong way? Screaming tantrum. Mommy built the train tracks veering to the left instead of to the right? Screaming tantrum with a good 10 minutes of writhing on the floor thrown in for good measure. But I digress….
For most kids, napping drops off by age 4 or 5 (some even drop their nap at age 3, bless their parents' hearts). But there is well-documented research that shows that napping can be beneficial well into adulthood. How so?
Improved memory. Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore say napping before a test is just as effective as cramming for it. According to New Scientist:
The team mocked-up a real student experience, and had 72 volunteers sit through presentations of about 12 different species of ants and crabs. The participants were asked to learn all about these animals, including their diets and habitats, for example. After 80 minutes of this, the students were given an hour to either watch a film, have a nap, or revise what they had just learned. After this hour, they had another 80 minutes of learning. Then they had to sit an exam in which they were asked 360 questions about the ants and the crabs.
The napping group got the best scores in the 2016 study, researchers said, because sleep allows our brains to comprehend all the things that we learned that day, thus improving memory.
That thought is echoed in Dr. Marc Weissbluth's book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," which says that while a child is sleeping, his brain is hard at work processing all the things he has learned during the day. "Sleeping well increases brainpower just as lifting weights builds stronger muscles," he writes. There have been numerous studies over the last decade that found that naps can help improve memory and can even help improve problem-solving skills.
Because of all this research, many companies have started encouraging and promoting nap time in an effort to increase employee satisfaction and productivity. At Google, specially designed "Energy Pods" allow employees to block out light and sound to take a nap. (A friend of mine works at Google; needless to say, he loves it.)
Naps can help to restore alertness. Studies performed at NASA involving military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34 percent and alertness by 100 percent. In fact, if you're driving through the night and feel drowsy, the National Sleep Association recommends pulling over, taking a short nap and then getting a caffeinated drink to rejuvenate yourself. (Although you probably didn’t need the National Sleep Association to tell you that.)
It can help you relax. Much of the world (excluding the United States, unfortunately) embraces the siesta culture. In many European countries, businesses will close in the middle of the day for a time, allowing everyone to "regroup" before they tackle the afternoon. As a matter of fact, the CEO of The Energy Project, Tony Schwartz, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in which he details the importance of taking frequent breaks (even naps) as a form of "renewal" with which to tackle your work.
Reduced fatigue. A study performed in 2009 on sleepy night-shift air traffic controllers found that a 40-minute nap (of which 19 minutes were actually spent sleeping) rejuvenated tired controllers. After their naps, air traffic controllers were more alert, and therefore more effective.
Improved mood. This can be said for the toddler I mentioned above, as well for my 99-year-old grandmother (may she live long and be healthy). A well-timed midday nap can do wonders for improving your mood. Studies show this one is true too, but you probably don’t need a study to tell you that sleeping feels good.
So now that you know how good napping is for you, how long should your midday siesta be? MNN Blogger Starre Vartan wrote about the ideal nap length; check it out and then get snoozing. If your boss happens upon you during your rest time, just tell him you're prepping for that big meeting later this afternoon.
Editor's note: This story has been updated since it was originally published in May 2014.