HEALTH
Daytime Dozin'
Napping is fun and refreshing, but is it always good for you?
By Susan Melgren smelgren@kansan.com
After a long day of classes starting at 8 a.m., Rebecca Lo, Coffeyville junior, rushes home for a blissful, refreshing mid-afternoon nap. Like many college students, Lo naps regularly. During her first semester, Lo says she napped every day from 10 a.m. to lunch time, but a busier schedule this year means she has had to cut her naps down to 30 or 45 minutes for only two days a week. Lo says her body has trouble adjusting to the varied times her classes start during the week, and napping helps to alleviate this.
Most doctors recommend getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night, but for most college students this isn't realistic. Balancing classes, work and a social life means late nights and early mornings. Sarah Gregory, Osborne, sophomore, says she stays up between midnight and I a.m.every night and gets up at 6:30 for early morning classes. Gregory says she doesn't sleep enough at night, so she has to find time to sleep sometime.
"I'm one of those people who needs a little sleep not to be a bitch," she says.
For Gregory, Lo and others, napping catches them up on sleep and restores their ability to function
throughout the day.
Hunter Hearn, doctor of sleep medicine at the Sleep Medicine Center of Kansas, recommends daytime naps for sleep deprived students.
"In a 24-hour period the body needs seven to eight hours of sleep." Hearn says. "Napping is one way to get that."
The length of a good nap varies on a person-to-person basis and depends on how tired the body is, Hearn says. For some, a 20-minute power nap refreshes them. Others find it impossible to get up after less than 30 minutes of sleep, and for them, a one-to-two hour nap is best. These people may have chronic sleep deprivation and when they nap they will fall into a deep sleep, which is harder to wake up from.
"It's just whatever your body needs," Hearn says.
Hearn also recommends napping in the afternoon. Most people are alert in the mornings and get a second wave of energy in the evening. The body experiences a natural lull after lunch, making early afternoon a prime time for snoozing. Napping after lunch also reduces the chances of negatively affecting nighttime sleep.
Napping on a regular basis benefits the body in other ways besides reducing afternoon
sleepiness. Tom Marcellino, doctor of family medicine at Mt. Oread Family Practice,says that napping increases alertness and brain activity and reduces stress.A quick visit to slumberland also restores the body's ability to function. Sleep deprivation impairs memory,reaction time,judgment,vision and motivation.
The Dark Side of Napping
Despite its many benefits, napping can negatively affect the body. Carole Guillaume, doctor of family medicine and sleep medicine at Watkins Health Center, warns that while sleeping for 20 to 30 minutes may be energizing for sleep deprived students, napping can also mess with the body's internal clock.
The body likes consistency in its daily activities, and napping during the day can confuse it. The brain might reverse day and night. Students who develop a habit of napping have trouble falling asleep at night but will feel sleepy in the afternoon because
their bodies have become accustomed to sleeping during the day.
Like Hearn, Guillaume says that the body needs eight hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. While she says breaking up sleep into multiple sections is better than not getting enough sleep, Guillaume advocates a full eight hours at night.
"Don't shortchange your sleep at night," Guillaume says.
Napping in various locations can also make it difficult to sleep at night. Hearn says that napping in a location other than your bed tricks the mind. If you frequently nap at the library, your mind will associate sleep with the library and consequently may not recognize your bed as an acceptable sleeping spot.
Despite its negative effects, napping is still better than not sleeping at all. So whether it's a 20-minute power nap or a two-hour rendezvous with your pillow and the back of your eyelids, grab some sleep when you can.
Get Your Nap On
Part of napping is tricking the mind into thinking it's okay to sleep during the day. The best way to nap is to mimic conditions that occur at night. Here are a few tips.
- Sleep in a dark room. Close the blinds and avoid direct sunlight.
Consider an eye mask for shutting out bright lights.
- Find a quiet place. Studies have shown that a noisy room will disrupt sleep, even if you're unconscious while it's going on. Try using ear plugs
- Put on your pajamas. Nothing says
sleepy-time like comfy clothes.
- Eat a light snack—but avoid heavy meals. A grumbling stomach will wake you up, but a full one makes sleeping uncomfortable.
- Nap in your bed if possible. Your mind already associates your bed with sleep, so falling asleep here will be easier.
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September 11,2008