Latin countries aside, the rest of us grew up to believe that taking a nap is a waste of time, and a sign that old age is creeping up on us. Is it any wonder that older adults feel guilty if they succumb to this simple pleasure?
A nap can be a good thing. Studies reviewed in an article written for Consumer Reports on Health (February 2006) revealed that people of all ages scored higher on tests of cognitive ability and reaction time after napping. Your internal clock, it seems, it programmed to make you feel sleepy twice in a twenty-four period of time.
Feeling sleepy in the middle of the afternoon is not a sign of laziness. It is okay to make a nap a part of your routine. Pick a nice peaceful spot, draw the drapes, dim the lights, turn off the television and just let go for awhile. It doesn’t have to be a long time, 15 or 20 minutes might be all it takes to refresh you. Time your nap for when you feel the sleepiest and allow that drowsiness to abate before resuming activities of daily living.
Older people tend to feel guilty, and are afraid that they will be branded as lazy if they succumb to a nap. However, studies show that people are more able to lead active lives with this little energy boost. We all know how important sleep is, and we all know that quality of sleep tends to deteriorates as we get older. Older people are more apt to have disturbed sleep patterns, whether from having to get up to go to the bathroom or just waking up and being unable to fall back asleep.
Not being able to fall back asleep after waking is my problem. I was somewhat relieved to find that many other people have this problem. There are so many articles written about the importance of good sleep that it is disturbing to find it so elusive. I feel that I am doing everything that I can to take care of myself (diet, exercise and health care) and wonder why getting enough rest continues to elude me. Is denying myself the luxury of a nap the culprit?
Being active during the day is important to older people, but poor sleeping habits can impact their desire to get the most out of life. Drugs obviously are not the answer because they lead to all sorts of unpleasant side effects. Therefore it is important to understand that people, no matter what their age can benefit from a nap. .
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