After a busy morning, my mind was dizzy, and I was looking forward to sleeping for a while at noon. Some people sleep for more than an hour as soon as they fall asleep, while others wake up after squinting for a few minutes. Which of these two naps is better?
Recently, a study published in the American “Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia: Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association” shows that taking a long nap is not a good thing, taking a nap of more than 1 hour , increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 40%.
How long is a good noon nap? Why do you feel groggy after sleeping for a long time? “Life Times” (Search “LT0385” in WeChat to follow) Combined with the research, interview experts and tell you the way your body likes to nap.
Experts Interviewed
Guo Xiheng, Director, Sleep and Respiratory Disease Treatment Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital
Excessive naps and idiots “pull each other back”
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School tracked the duration and frequency of naps among 1,401 participants. Participants were asked to wear a sleep detection device.
Analysis by the research team found that there is a potential two-way link between naps and Alzheimer’s disease: too much and too long naps can increase the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease; Alzheimer’s disease can also lead to excessive naps during the day. Specifically:
Those who nap more than an hour a day have a 40% higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s than those who nap less than an hour a day, regardless of the quality of their sleep at night;
As you age and Alzheimer’s disease progresses, so does the duration and frequency of naps, especially in older adults who are already showing symptoms of dementia.
Ultimately, researchers describe the relationship between prolonged naps and cognition as a “vicious cycle.”
The relationship between daytime naps and Alzheimer’s disease
How can this “vicious circle” be avoided?
Leng Yue, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, said that it is best to limit nap time to 15-20 minutes before 15:00 , to get the maximum health benefits of naps and prevent damage to your night’s sleep.
In addition, caregivers of older adults and Alzheimer’s patients should be vigilant and advise their doctor if they notice an increase in nap time or frequency.
The dramatic increase in nap time and frequency appears to be a particularly important sign of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say. This signal helps us better understand the role of sleep in Alzheimer’s disease progression.
A 20-minute nap is most beneficial
Since too much sleep is bad for cognitive health, what is the appropriate amount of midday sleep? Why do you feel drowsy after sleeping for a long time?
Generally speaking, a complete sleep cycle is about 90 minutes. Each cycle is divided into five stages: falling asleep, light sleep, deep sleep, deep sleep and rapid eye movement.
Nick Littlehales, former president of the British Sleep Society, said: “Waking up from a light sleep is usually refreshed; waking up in the middle of a deep sleep, Tired easily.
Combined with sleep cycles, a 10- to 20-minute nap is most recommended for most people.
However, different nap durations will bring different repairing effects to the body, and you can choose the appropriate duration according to your personal needs:
10~15 minutes, easy to wake up quickly
A study published in the American “Sleep” magazine found that the “awakeness” of a short nap of about 10 minutes is the best, and this effect is still obvious 2 to 2.5 hours after a nap.
This fast-charging nap helps boost your alertness quickly and helps restore your body’s energy.
20~30 minutes to help protect the heart
NASA scientists found that taking a 24-minute nap was associated with a 34% increase in work performance and a 54% increase in overall mental acuity.
This length of time also helps to slow the heart rate and protects the heart.
40 minutes, suitable for those who need to catch up on sleep
If you haven’t slept well the night before and you need to concentrate during the day at work, a 40-minute nap can better recharge your brain.
More than 40 minutes, easy to get tired after waking up
If you want to sleep for 40-45 minutes, it is best to set an alarm. Because taking a nap for more than 45 minutes will lead to a deep sleep, it is easy to wake up tired and confused due to “sleep inertia”.
3 keys to a science nap
A high-quality nap can boost your energy, and a few simple preparations can give your body a healthy recovery.
Posture
In the eyes of doctors, there is a health ranking for nap positions. The most recommended sleeping position is lying down, and the least recommended is sleeping on your stomach.
Sleep in bed
The ideal position is to lie flat on a bed and fall asleep with a pillow of moderate height. All parts of the spine can be effectively relaxed and the spine can be placed in a relatively stable position.
Expand Crib
Office workers can purchase a lightweight rollaway bed that can be placed in the office and can also help keep the spine stable.
Sleep on your back
There is no way to take a lunch break in a rollaway bed, but you can choose to rest on the back of an office chair. Note that the head should rest on the neck pillow of the chair; if the office chair is not equipped with a neck pillow, a U-shaped pillow can be worn.
Sleep on your stomach
Laying on your stomach is the least recommended nap position, as it is easy to cause cerebral ischemia, and the muscles at the back of the neck cannot be relaxed, which affects the physiological curvature of the cervical spine. Sleeping on the stomach can also easily lead to flatulence, affecting breathing, blood circulation and nerve conduction, and causing numbness and tingling in the arms and hands.
Crowd
Not everyone has to take a nap, it should vary from person to person according to physical condition and work and rest habits.
People who do not sleep well at night, or who are often troubled by insomnia, should not take a nap, otherwise it will aggravate insomnia at night.
Sleep seven or eight hours at night and still feel sleepy during the day, it is best not to go to bed by yourself, because sleeping too much is also a type of sleep disorder, and naps may even worsen the symptoms .
There are some that are not suitable for naps, and of course there are those who need naps more.
Occasionally, people who don’t get enough sleep due to overtime at night or other reasons usually need to take naps during the day to make up for it.
People who work and study too much during the day, such as students, drivers, etc., can relieve tension and promote memory if they can take a nap in the afternoon.
Time Period
After 3 pm, it is not recommended to take a nap, so as not to affect the sleep at night and disturb the biological clock.
Generally speaking, people who have nap habits and are in good health do not need to worry about how long to sleep, as long as they wake up with more energy, it is a good nap. ▲
Editor of this issue: Zheng Ronghua
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