What Happens If You Don't Take Your Afternoon Naps?

www.theguardian.com

As kids we hated taking naps in the afternoon. We were forced to take it and would be punished for not doing so. So I and my cousin, Arnold, often tried escaping from afternoon naps.

When we did, it was like conquering the world.

But often we got caught and suffered incarceration in our bedrooms. Later, we filed protests.

But when I became a young adult and adult, I started appreciating afternoon naps, especially when I began doing a job. I was a working student in college so I napped inside public jeeps on my way to school from work. Once I reached school, I was totally refreshed.

(I want to tell you how I managed to nap in the office on office hours and in class while our boring profs lectured---and never got caught---but I won't).

A good nap is from 20 to 30 minutes. Overdoing it, though, would disrupt your sleeping pattern (and would get you caught at work or at school). You may find it hard to sleep at night if you prolong your afternoon naps.

What happens if you miss your naps?

It would probably compromise your alertness and performance in whatever you're doing---studies, reading, focus, your job, driving, sports, or even just walking. Napping helps reduce mistakes and accidents. NASA found out that pilots and astronauts who napped 40 minutes improved their performance by 34% and alertness by 100%.

Naps do not compensate for sleep loss at night, but it can rejuvenate you physically and mentally to cope up with the remaining activities of your day in the afternoon. Afternoon naps can even enhance night sleep, as long as they remain naps, not full-swing sleeps.

According to SleepFoundation.Org, here are famous men who napped: Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Albert Einstein, Napoleon, George W. Bush and Thomas Edison.

If you dream to be great someday like them, you can take a chance with afternoon naps.

Here's how NOT to take a nap: