Is It Really Necessary to Take a Nap?

     What excuse do you have for not taking a nap? Maybe students will say that they don’t have enough spare time to take a nap because they’re too busy with school or university schedules, or maybe they just don’t like taking a nap at all. Despite all of those excuses, do people, especially students, really need to nap? The answer is yes. Now that you know the answer, you should know the reasons why taking a nap is important.

     First of all, nap can increase your alertness and patience. If you are feeling frustrated or you are going through some difficult situation, just take a nap. Research shows that a 30-minute to an hour nap is sufficient for you to become more alert and be able to solve difficult problems. Second, nap helps you to support your memory. A study conducted in Germany showed that the group of people who took a nap performed five times better than those who watched DVD instead. If you feel like your brain can’t take any school materials anymore, try to take a nap and your memory will recover soon. The third reason why taking a nap is important is because it can control emotions. Research shows that in general, sleeping helps people make sense of their emotions. That’s why when people feel certain negative emotions like angry or sad, they will restore those emotions by taking a nap, and they will feel a lot better after that. Lastly, taking a nap helps reduce diseases’ risks. A British study found that blood pressure drops before people fall asleep, and a study of thousands of Greek adults found that people who take naps are over 30% less likely to have heart diseases. Those studies have proved that taking a nap is beneficial not only for mental health, but also for physical health. 

  After reading the benefits of taking a nap above, do you still have any excuses to not take any naps? Even though you are busy with your schedules, at least take a short break and close your eyes for 10 minutes to restore your brain, body, and emotions before getting back to your schedules. Having too hectic activities will also affect your health, so make sure to take a quick nap to gain the benefits above and become more productive for the day.  

References :

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/important-reasons-to-nap_n_5aa6805be4b086698a9fb30c 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/napping 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181009-how-sleep-helps-with-emotional-recovery-and-trauma