If there are days when you feel a little sick about taking a nap, we have good news for you: science has gone a step further to explain why it is so beneficial. Thanks to what we are going to tell you, you will no longer have problems falling asleep after lunch and thus enjoy those minutes of rest that feel so good.
Let them take away everything they want to take from us… but don’t let them take our naps. As pure-blooded Spaniards that we are, the siesta is one of our greatest traditions. It doesn’t matter which part of Spain you live in: the siesta is practiced the same. And now a study carried out jointly between the UCL in London and the University of the Republic, in Uruguay, confirm why we do so well when we take one.
Napping benefits your brain
Scientists have always been at a loss for the effect napping has on the body. Is it good? Is it bad? For this reason, possibly, it has not been adopted worldwide in such a general way. In Spain we do not consider it much, because it is already deeply rooted in us. But in the past, one study said that napping could be linked to Alzheimer’s, and another argued that napping made us learn better. In short: they were not clarified.
Now, with better resources and data at your disposal, the new research we are talking about reveals that napping has very beneficial effects on the brain. Exactly what the nap would be doing is protecting your brain from shrinking. And that, as you can imagine, is a very positive thing.
nap for everyone
This research work concludes that a short nap throughout the day helps to slow down the process by which the brain reduces its size as we get older. Although everyone can benefit from it, it is especially recommended for those who already suffer from a neurodegenerative disease or for those who have some type of cognitive problem. At the same time, among the many conclusions of the study, it is determined that taking a nap throughout the day can be an excellent way to compensate for the problems that little sleep has.
This would explain the reasons why there are many people who sleep little and who do not have problems over the years because they compensate for this lack of sleep with a nap at noon. The study that provides this information is not exactly small, since data from more than 35,000 people have been used.
Something that they have also discovered that the benefits of a nap are so high that they even compensate for other problems that result in the reduction of brain volume over the years. Thus, they say that it is a good system to compensate for the negative effects of little exercise or even smoking. It is also discovered that there is a genetic relationship with the nap, which is why some people are more likely to resort to it without considering it.
Thanks to the study, it is confirmed that napping helps fight dementia and that, as we told you, it can be a very beneficial way of compensating for some day-to-day factors that are not very healthy. Of course, it is determined that the ideal duration is 30 minutes. But within our customs, half an hour of nap is not bad at all and is tremendously welcome.
They also argue that the study was done in the UK, where it’s obvious that napping isn’t that common, which has led to some really good data. There is still a lot to investigate about the siesta, but this world-renowned Spanish tradition is increasingly justified. So, you know, after lunch, a 30-minute nap will leave you feeling like new and will help your brain stay healthier.
