Riya Baibhawi

Taking a nap is a roll of the dice—sometimes, you rise refreshed, and other times, you wake more exhausted than before you closed your eyes. And there is a very solid reason behind it—the time spent resting. Recently, Thomas Michael Kilkenny, a sleep doctor, took the internet by storm when he said that there is a calculated apt period within which you can have a perfect nap.  The director of the Institute of Sleep Medicine at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital said that there is a magic number of minutes when it comes to getting the most out of your midday snooze. 

"<span>Napping</span>, when designed properly, can improve our daily lives," said Kilkenny. This stands particularly true if you do not get adequate sleep at night. According to experts, sleep restriction (not getting enough sleep) has significant negative effects on feelings of sleepiness, motor and mental performance and mood, as well as on metabolic, hormonal and immunological function."

A study published in <em><span rel="noindex">Sleep Health</span></em> found that taking a quick nap during the day may correlate with larger brain volume. The findings identified frontal, temporal, parietal and cerebellar regions with a larger grey matter volume in individuals who had six-to-eight hours of sleep compared to other sleep durations. Additionally, it also indicated that people who sleep for longer durations may have a smaller cerebellum, a part of the brain involved in movement and coordination. While this has not been observed before in healthy middle-aged and older adults, past research has linked a smaller cerebellum to poor sleep quality in teenagers and sleep disorders like narcolepsy and sleep apnea.

<h2>How Long Should We Take A Nap?</h2>As per Kilkenny, naps should be relatively short and shouldn't last over 20-30 minutes. Shorter naps of around 10 minutes can also be helpful. "Sleeping longer can trigger the effects of sleep inertia. This is the feeling of continued sleepiness upon awakening." Kilkenny explained that sleep inertia can cause disorientation, depressed motor skills, poor balance, difficulty communicating and reasoning, moodiness, impaired memory, and irritability. Therefore, it becomes important to stick to a particular time frame for sleeping. 

<h2>Sleep Is Important For Memories Too!</h2>

Meanwhile, a new study suggested that the fact that you are remembering bad memories on days you did not have a good sleep could have a psychological impact. Sleep plays a major role in the recovery and healing of our body. It is no surprise that you feel a lot more tired and fatigued when you are sick because that is your body’s way of conserving energy so that it can be used to heal you instead. Many studies show that even when you have psychological issues like depression, anxiety etc. you are more likely to feel sleepy as your body is still in 'fix it' mode. Thereby, it becomes pivotal for us to pay attention to sleep to not just keep our brains healthy but also to boost our moods. 

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Taking a nap is a roll of the dice—sometimes, you rise refreshed, and other times, you wake more exhausted than before you closed your eyes. And there is a very solid reason behind it—the time spent resting. Recently, Thomas Michael Kilkenny, a sleep doctor, took the internet by storm when he said that there is a calculated apt period within which you can have a perfect nap.  The director of the Institute of Sleep Medicine at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital said that there is a magic number of minutes when it comes to getting the most out of your midday snooze. "Napping, when designed properly, can improve our daily lives," said Kilkenny. This stands particularly true if you do not get adequate sleep at night. According to experts, sleep restriction (not getting enough sleep) has significant negative effects on feelings of sleepiness, motor and mental performance and mood, as well as on metabolic, hormonal and immunological function."A study published in Sleep Health found that taking a quick nap during the day may correlate with larger brain volume. The findings identified frontal, temporal, parietal and cerebellar regions with a larger grey matter volume in individuals who had six-to-eight hours of sleep compared to other sleep durations. Additionally, it also indicated that people who sleep for longer durations may have a smaller cerebellum, a part of the brain involved in movement and coordination. While this has not been observed before in healthy middle-aged and older adults, past research has linked a smaller cerebellum to poor sleep quality in teenagers and sleep disorders like narcolepsy and sleep apnea.How Long Should We Take A Nap?As per Kilkenny, naps should be relatively short and shouldn't last over 20-30 minutes. Shorter naps of around 10 minutes can also be helpful. "Sleeping longer can trigger the effects of sleep inertia. This is the feeling of continued sleepiness upon awakening." Kilkenny explained that sleep inertia can cause disorientation, depressed motor skills, poor balance, difficulty communicating and reasoning, moodiness, impaired memory, and irritability. Therefore, it becomes important to stick to a particular time frame for sleeping. Sleep Is Important For Memories Too!Meanwhile, a new study suggested that the fact that you are remembering bad memories on days you did not have a good sleep could have a psychological impact. Sleep plays a major role in the recovery and healing of our body. It is no surprise that you feel a lot more tired and fatigued when you are sick because that is your body’s way of conserving energy so that it can be used to heal you instead. Many studies show that even when you have psychological issues like depression, anxiety etc. you are more likely to feel sleepy as your body is still in 'fix it' mode. Thereby, it becomes pivotal for us to pay attention to sleep to not just keep our brains healthy but also to boost our moods. 