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Daytime nap 'is as refreshing as a night's sleep'
Daily Telegraph - UK ^
| June 23, 2003
| David Derbyshire
Posted on 06/22/2003 10:02:23 PM PDT by Mister Magoo
Daytime nap 'is as refreshing as a night's sleep' By David Derbyshire
Filed: 23/06/2003
Power naps, the post lunch snoozes advocated by Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and George W Bush, can be as refreshing as a good night's sleep, according to a study.
Scientists have shown that a 60- to 90-minute siesta can charge up the brain's batteries as much as eight hours tucked up in bed. But in order to get the full benefit, dozers need to spend some of that time dreaming, the study found.
The findings come from psychologists at Harvard University, who tested the visual learning ability of volunteers.
The tests, which involved watching and then recalling the position of bars on a computer screen, were carried out at 9am and 7pm, and again at 9am the following day.
Test scores of volunteers not allowed to sleep during the day fell by the evening of the first day. But the reaction times of people who took a 60- to 90-minute sleep during the day improved in the evening, the researchers report in Nature Neuroscience.
Short naps only worked when they included two kinds of sleep - slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The two kinds of sleep are categorised by different brainwave patterns and are thought to help the brain rehearse and process new skills and information learnt during the day.
The scientists, led by Dr Sara Mednick, said: "From the perspective of behavioural improvement, a nap is as good as a night of sleep for learning on this perceptual task."
Power naps also added to the benefits of a good night's sleep. Volunteers who took a nap on the first day of the experiment were 50 per cent better at remembering the task 24 hours later than the non nappers. Last year a study found that men were more likely to take power naps than women.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: powernaps
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To: Mister Magoo
Amen - from a dyed-in-the-wool napper!
To: Mister Magoo
To each his own, but I don't like to nap. I usually wake up feeling groggy, and that feeling often lasts the rest of the day.
3
posted on
06/22/2003 10:07:43 PM PDT
by
kms61
To: Mister Magoo
I always find that when I snag one of those Sunday afternoon naps, my dream state is more active than it is at night. And the dreams are better retained in my memory after I have awaken.
4
posted on
06/22/2003 10:08:17 PM PDT
by
Allegra
To: Mister Magoo
Yeah right...that's why countries with siestas rule the world...
5
posted on
06/22/2003 10:09:32 PM PDT
by
Drango
(To opt on or off my *NPR/PBS* Ping list please Freep mail me)
To: Mister Magoo
It's too bad siestas have never caught on in the USA. A little after lunch snoozing is definitely the way to go, keeps one alert and energetic well into the evening.
6
posted on
06/22/2003 10:09:56 PM PDT
by
squidly
To: Allegra
I meant to say "after I have awakened."
7
posted on
06/22/2003 10:10:05 PM PDT
by
Allegra
(Should have had a NAP today!)
To: Mister Magoo
Enter the Limbaurium, LOL!
8
posted on
06/22/2003 10:10:11 PM PDT
by
goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
To: Mister Magoo
That was one of the upsides to being in a field infantry unit. You slept whenever there was 'downtime'.
We called them 'Combat Naps'. Your body will tell you when it needs sleep. If you push it beyond the point of endurance, it will take the sleep whether you want it to or not...
9
posted on
06/22/2003 10:12:40 PM PDT
by
Cogadh na Sith
(The Guns of Brixton)
To: Drango
Yeah right...that's why countries with siestas rule the world...They don't rule maybe because they're too hot. Though Spain was a great power for a few centuries, once.
Hey, and look at Churchill. He ruled.
To: LiteKeeper
Ditto that -- around 2-3 pm is Brownout Time for me.
11
posted on
06/22/2003 10:14:49 PM PDT
by
martin_fierro
(A v v n c v l v s M a x i m v s)
To: squidly
Especially after those 3 martini lunches.
To: Mister Magoo
would someone please forward this article to my nco's...
13
posted on
06/22/2003 10:21:48 PM PDT
by
bigghurtt
(http://freep.bigghurtt.com)
To: Mister Magoo
A short nap instead of coffee will extend ones life by many years.
To: Mister Magoo
I take a nap every afternoon and this article is right on.
One thing to remember: Always get your good night's sleep on your belly, with your feet hanging over the end of the bed and your head turned to the left. Take naps on your back. No joke.
To: Lancey Howard
Sounds interesting...why so?
16
posted on
06/22/2003 10:37:21 PM PDT
by
SAJ
To: Lancey Howard
One thing to remember: Always get your good night's sleep on your belly, with your feet hanging over the end of the bed and your head turned to the left. Take naps on your back. No joke.My head only turns to the Right!!!!!
17
posted on
06/22/2003 10:37:32 PM PDT
by
freebilly
(I think they've misunderestimated us....)
To: shhrubbery!
Drango:
Yeah right...that's why countries with siestas rule the world... Shhrubbery!:
They don't rule maybe because they're too hot. Though Spain was a great power for a few centuries, once. Hey, and look at Churchill. He ruled.
Bluefish:
Seems to me that President Bush comes pretty darn close too, Drango. I'm telling my boss tomorrow morning that I will be taking a 90 minute nap at noon tomorrow. If it works for the President, it should work for me. It should be good for the company!
18
posted on
06/22/2003 10:39:05 PM PDT
by
bluefish
aw jeez - don't tell skywalk. he only gets out of bed to freep. if he reads this, he won't even do that - and i need him to take out the trash now and then...
To: Lancey Howard
One thing to remember: Always get your good night's sleep on your belly, with your feet hanging over the end of the bed... What if you got a big round belly? Would be hard to stay balanced! I picture a sort of rolling off to the side heh heh..
Seriously, can you explain further?
20
posted on
06/22/2003 10:42:30 PM PDT
by
bluefish
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