As the saying goes, if you don’t sleep at noon, you will collapse in the afternoon.
As soon as spring arrives at noon, drowsiness is overwhelming.
Because most people lose part of their blood during morning work and lunch
,
So the brain gets sleepy because of a temporary lack of blood supply.
I believe that many people take naps like this ▼
It said it was a nap,
But after waking up, it was bout after bout… numb hands + stiff face!
Then the question is,
What are the dangers of sleeping on your stomach? What is the most scientific way to take a nap?
01
What are the benefits of taking a nap?
1. Improve memory
Napping improves concentration and the ability to learn and remember new knowledge.
A napping study of 2,200 Chinese in the journal Integrative Psychiatry found that people who had a nap habit (usually 5 minutes to 120 minutes) compared to those who didn’t. Cognitive abilities and memory, including orientation awareness, verbal fluency, and concentration were rated higher.
2. Improve work performance
Napping can help you improve your work status and performance.
Athletes who doze off before a game perform better than those who don’t doze before a game, improve work performance upon waking, and are better able to complete tasks that feel difficult, research has found.
3. Regulate emotions
Napping can help you reduce stress and regulate negative emotions.
Studies have found that naps can block or even reverse negative daytime emotional responses to anger and fear, as well as boost feelings of well-being.
Because of limited office conditions, many people have developed the habit of using a pillow or their arms as pillows to lie on the table and squint for a while in the afternoon.
However, this sleeping position is not recommended, but it will bring many health risks.
02
Sleeping on the table is very harmful
1. Increased burden on the stomach
Sleeping on the table, your stomach will be squeezed due to the bending of the body, increasing the burden of peristalsis, easily causing flatulence in the stomach and reducing digestion.
If you sleep on your stomach just after eating, you may have gastritis for a long time.
This is because it takes at least 1 hour after lunch for the human body to empty the food in the stomach. If you lie down just after eating, the emptying will be delayed when the stomach is under pressure, and the gastric mucosal barrier is easily damaged. When it is destroyed, it is easy to form chronic inflammation over time.
2. Neck and back pain
Long-term sleeping on the table, the neck will appear obvious pain.
Because when people sleep on their stomachs, their necks are usually raised higher, bent forward and twisted to one side, distorting the original physiological curvature of the cervical spine.
At the same time, long-term bending of the upper body and the deviation of the spine from the neutral line will also cause back pain and lumbar muscle strain.
3. Radial nerve disease of the arm
Sleeping on the table, many people use their arms as pillows, which will compress the radial nerve of the arm.
This will cause nerve paralysis in the arm, affecting normal blood circulation and nerve conduction, resulting in soreness and numbness of the thumb and index finger, unable to hold chopsticks and pens, and localized nerve paralysis such as shoulder pain and arm soreness and numbness. .
4. Eyeball Compression
If the eyeball is compressed by external force for a long time, it will increase the intraocular pressure and hinder the blood flow in the eyeball.
Over time, it will cause the eyeball to enlarge and the axial length of the eye to grow, which can easily damage the cornea and retina, cause corneal deformation, and curvature changes, which may affect vision, increase the incidence of glaucoma and accelerate astigmatism.
03
How to take a nap in the most scientific way?
If you are too sleepy at noon and can only sleep on the table, you can prepare an inflatable pillow for travel, or sleep with your forehead on your arms.
But it should be noted that this method should not exceed 30 minutes at most, and sleep 30 minutes after lunch, so as not to increase the burden on the stomach.
If possible, it is recommended that you lie down and sleep for a while at noon.
Even just 5 minutes can improve your work performance, improve your memory, reduce sleepiness, relieve stress, and regulate your mood.
04
How long is a good nap?
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults nap for 20 to 30 minutes.
If this time is exceeded, we start to fall into a deep sleep, which is less likely to be awakened and more likely to be groggy.
If you sleep for more than 90 minutes or more, it can also affect your sleep time at night and cause trouble falling asleep.
Of course, if you have never had the habit of taking a nap, and you don’t have to force yourself to change your sleeping habit, the one that suits you is the best.
So, when is the right time for us to take a nap?
Sarah Mednick, an associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Irvine, believes that the 6-8 hours after waking up in the morning are the most Good nap time. For most office workers, nap time is between 1pm and 3pm.
Reviewer
Dr. Xu Jing, Aikang Daoyitong Internet Hospital
Former Deputy Vice President of Jingzhong Medical District, PLA General Hospital Chief Physician
References
[1].https://www.sleepadvisor.org/sleep/nap/benefit/.
[2].Gujar N, McDonald SA, Nishida M, WalkerMP. A role for REMsleep in recalibrating the sensitivity of the human brain to specific emotions. Cereb Cortex. 2011 Jan;21(1):115-23. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhq064. Epub 2010 Apr26. PMID: 20421251; PMCID : PMC3000566.
[3]. Anonymous. Sleeping on the table, beware of gastrointestinal diseases [J]. Medicine and Health, 2013(9): 1