It can be tempting to let your kids stay up until they fall asleep, but science says that’s not a good idea. When children don’t get enough sleep, they become irritable and have a hard time controlling their emotions. Kids who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight and have behavioral and learning difficulties.

Regular bedtimes may not be easy to enforce, but they are necessary for the health and cognitive development of your children.

What Time Should Children Go To Bed?

There is no hard and fast rule for bedtime because sleep needs and patterns vary from one child to another. However, if you know how much sleep your child needs and what time they need to be up, you can easily work out the appropriate bedtime.

Typically, toddlers need about 12 to 14 hours of sleep daily, whereas school-age children need 9 to 11 hours. These are only general guidelines, but with time, you will be able to figure out just how much sleep your child needs.

Regular Schedules And Bedtime Rituals

Kids thrive on routines, so doing the same things before going to bed each night creates the right atmosphere for sleep. Although every bedtime routine is unique, it usually includes taking a bath, brushing teeth, and putting on PJs. The routine should be no longer than 30 minutes (excluding bath time), and parents should be vigilant about ending the routine when it’s time to sleep.

Turn Off The Screens An Hour Before Bedtime

The light from the TV, computer, and phone screens interferes with melatonin production, so turn them off at least an hour before bedtime. Your kids will plead for “just one more show” or “just one more game”, but remember that an additional half hour of screen time can keep your child awake for two additional hours.

Create The Right Atmosphere For Sleep

Stress and high cortisol levels can interfere with sleep, so stressful and exciting activities probably shouldn’t occur before bedtime.

Turn down the volume, dim the lights, and be boring! Young kids may not grasp the concept of bedtime, but they can definitely tell when mommy and daddy don’t want to play. Start acting calm and “boring” at least two hours before bedtime so your kids will have an easier time falling asleep.

Make Sure Your Child Is Comfortable

Bedtime can make your child feel a sense of separation from the rest of the family, so the bedroom should be designed to make him or her feel safe and secure. A favorite blanket, teddy bear, and soft, warm sheets will soothe your child, making him or her feel safer and in control.

Lastly, keep the bedroom cool and the child’s feet warm. This may seem contradictory, but it helps to distribute blood and heat evenly throughout the body, thereby inducing sleep.

For many parents, bedtime can be a real struggle, but with these tips, it should be less of a challenge. Experiment with one or two of these recommendations to help ensure your child gets the sleep they need.

The post Can’t Get Your Kids to Fall Asleep? Try This appeared first on Lifestyle.

Aromatherapy, derived from the French word “aromatherapie”, is the use of fragrant essential oils extracted from plants to promote physical and psychological health and wellness.

The most commonly used oils are lavender, lemon, peppermint, and tea tree, but there are about 150 essential oils in total.

The healing properties of essential oils have been studied since the 11^th century. Science has shown over and over again that aromatic essential oils can relieve stress, improve memory, sleep, and energy levels.

Stress Relief

When you inhale air that is infused with essential oils, your nose sends a message through your nervous system to the part of your brain where emotions are processed. This triggers the release of “feel-good” chemicals like serotonin in your brain. These chemicals help you feel more relaxed.

Some experts also believe that putting essential oils in your bath or massaging them into your skin relaxes your muscles and joints. Some of the best oils for stress relief are basil, lavender, frankincense, rose, and chamomile oil.

Better Sleep

If you are suffering from insomnia and looking for something to help you sleep like a baby, aromatherapy might just be the thing for you. Essential oils like lavender, bergamot, and chamomile calm your nervous system so that you can sleep better.

No More Colds

Aromatherapy strengthens your immune system and keeps colds at bay. If you already have a cold, essential oils can relieve your symptoms and support the recovery process.

The best essential oils for strengthening your immune system include clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary. Clove oil, for instance, has strong antibacterial and antiviral properties, whereas eucalyptus stimulates antibodies to help fight infections.

Aromatherapy At Home

You don’t have to go to an expensive spa and pay an arm and a leg for aromatherapy. You can do it at home.

All you need to get started is essential oils. The most versatile ones are lavender, clove, lemon, rosemary, eucalyptus, tea tree, sandalwood, peppermint, and eucalyptus oil. Just pick one or two to get started, and you are good to go!

The easiest way to get started is by adding the oils to your bath. But if you are more of a shower person, just add a few drops to your shower gel. If all you want to do is smell the essential oils, spring for a scent diffuser.

Consider giving aromatherapy a try and start smelling your way to better health with essential oils this week!

The post Smell Your Way to Better Health appeared first on Lifestyle.

There has been a lot of scientific research in this area, and most of it shows that massage therapy is effective for back pain, tight muscles, compressed nerves, fibromyalgia, insomnia, and depression. It also has beneficial effects on certain symptoms associated with cancer, arthritis, and high blood pressure.

How Exactly Does Massage Therapy Work?

• Improved circulation

Massage improves blood circulation, enhancing the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the cells and the removal of waste products. This is good news for anyone who suffers from arthritis or edema – accumulation of fluid in body tissues.

• Physical relaxation

Massage relaxes muscle tissue, which can relieve muscle pain, decrease nerve compression, increase the range of motion of joints, improve performance during exercise, and reduce the likelihood of injury. It is beneficial for anyone who suffers from carpal tunnel or sciatica, as well as athletes and people who exercise regularly.

The relaxing effect of massage therapy also helps to reduce blood pressure and lower the heart rate. A 45-60 minute massage can reduce average blood pressure by 10 mg Hg and lower heart rate by 10 beats per minute. All this can be achieved in just one massage session!

• Better Mental Health

Massage therapy can reduce the symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety, according to the American Psychology Association. A massage produces a significant increase in the neurotransmitters that reduce anxiety, as well as a decrease in hormones associated with lower anxiety. This helps you to feel less stressed.

• Better Sleep

Good quality sleep is essential to your health and well-being. In fact, insufficient sleep causes obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression.

A massage can help you sleep better, which is great news for anyone who suffers from insomnia or any other health condition that affects their sleep.

• Stronger Immune System

A 45-minute massage produces a significant increase in white blood cells, which play a huge role in defending the body from diseases. It also reduces the level of cytokines, which are associated with inflammation. Reduced inflammation can be beneficial if you suffer from asthma or cardiovascular disease.

Massages are generally safe as long as they are performed by a trained medical professional. However, they should not be used in place of conventional health care.

If you have a medical condition and you’d like to try massage therapy, talk to your health care provider. This way, your physician has a full picture of what you’re doing to manage your health.

The post Get a Massage to Improve Your Health appeared first on Lifestyle.

The circadian rhythm regulates your level of sleepiness or wakefulness throughout the day. When it’s working properly, you should wake up feeling energized and ready to conquer the world!

An out-of-whack body clock doesn’t just make you tired. It also disrupts your brain’s wave patterns, hormone production, and cell regulation. This disruption has been linked to depression, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Thankfully, it is possible to reset your circadian rhythm as long as you can figure out what is throwing it off.

Do you have a regular sleep schedule?

Do you go to bed and get up at around the same time every day? An erratic sleep schedule throws off your body clock.

If you want to wake up feeling refreshed, you need to pick a bedtime and a wake-up time. Don’t just go to bed whenever you feel like it.

Having a fixed bedtime also helps you wind down. You might not always go to bed on time, but the realization that it’s “past your bedtime” helps you to relax and get ready for bed.

Do you wind down before bed?

How do you prepare for bed? If you work or watch TV up until the minute you fall asleep, your brain doesn’t get a chance to wind down.

To sleep better, you need to find a way to let your mind know that it’s time to gear down and to set aside any anxious or worrisome thoughts before bedtime.

You need a pre-sleep ritual or routine.

It could be anything from taking a warm bath to reading a book, as long as it helps you relax.

Your body and mind need 30 to 60 minutes of pre-sleep time. During that time, you should avoid doing anything stimulating, such as working or browsing the internet.

Do you turn off the lights and electronics?

This seems obvious, but many people still go to sleep with the lights, TV, computer, or phone on.

Your body’s clock responds to light. This is why you’re most alert when the sun is shining and most tired when it’s dark outside.

Artificial light, whether from indoor lights or from the phone, confuses your body and makes it difficult for it to determine whether it’s day or night.

If you go to bed expecting to wake up feeling rested and energized but wake up feeling groggy, you may need to reset your body clock. Start by analyzing your pre-sleep and sleep habits using the above pointers, and then make any necessary changes.

The post Is your Body Clock Out of Whack? appeared first on Lifestyle.

Do you struggle to get out of bed after eight hours of sleep?

It’s perfectly normal to feel tired and less energetic at the end of the day, but some people suffer from lingering tiredness that interferes with daily life. They constantly feel like they haven’t slept for days.

Unhealthy lifestyle habits are a major causes of fatigue. Poor diet, bad sleeping habits and lack of physical exercise severely undermine your body’s ability to produce energy.

Sleeping habits. Adults require seven to eight hours of sleep daily for optimum hormonal, mental and metabolic health. Aim for 8 hours of quality sleep. If you feel you don’t have the time, make the time by getting rid of something else.

Don’t bring technology to bed. This includes TVs, computers, phones, tablets, e-readers or game consoles. These devices emit light that can trick your body into thinking it’s still daytime. This interferes with your body’s ability to wind down.

Your bedroom shouldn’t be too hot or too cold. Experts agree that bedroom temperatures should be between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. This is important because your body temperature dips when you’re asleep. Having a cool room facilitates this process.

Don’t hit the snooze button. When you hit the snooze button and go back to sleep your body assumes it was a false alarm and happily slips into the deep-sleep range. When the buzzer goes off the second time, you wake up feeling groggier and more fuzzy-headed than the first time. This feeling is known as sleep-inertia, and it can persist for up to four hours and ruin your day.

Eating habits. Not eating enough, or eating the wrong foods, makes you tired. For instance, if your body is not getting enough iron, you’ll feel sluggish, irritable and unable to focus. This is because your muscles and cells are not getting enough oxygen.

To boost your iron intake, load up on dark green leafy vegetables, kidney beans and nuts. Pair them with foods rich in Vitamin C such as oranges, peppers, broccoli and strawberries.

Also, try starting your day with a healthy breakfast that includes protein and complex carbohydrates. Sugar and caffeine may give you an instant kick but that feeling doesn’t last long. Your blood sugar peaks for a while and then crashes, leaving you feeling sluggish.

Exercise. One of the most common mistakes people make is failing to work out because “they’re too tired.” Exercise is a natural energy booster. It increases blood flow and helps you sleep better.

If you have tried changing your diet, exercise and sleeping habits but you’re still feeling tired all the time, consider seeing your doctor because it might be a more serious issue like sleep apnea, which increases heart attack risk.

Whatever you do, make getting quality sleep one of your highest priorities to feel healthier and happier.

The post Feel Tired All the Time? Try This! appeared first on Lifestyle.

It’s not always easy to sleep when feeling anxious and overwhelmed. But having a routine of getting good quality sleep is probably the best thing we can do to manage stress, even better than meditation and exercise, which also work magic for reducing stress.

Have you noticed how much harder the day seems after missing a good night’s sleep? It’s hard to stay focused, and little problems seem bigger than they are. You feel a lot more stressed and have a much shorter fuse.

Nearly half of Americans report feeling sleepy three or more days a week, and 35% of adults get far less than the recommended seven hours of sleep each night.

Even when we log seven hours or more of sleep, how often is it disrupted throughout the night with trips to the bathroom or noise? Not to mention how hard it is to fall asleep in the first place, especially with so much on our minds.

Then there are the people who say they just don’t have time for sleep because they have so much to do – that they’ll sleep when they’re dead! If they keep skimping on their sleep, that day will come much sooner than expected.

Cutting sleep is the last thing you should do because insufficient sleep makes you less focused and productive. Studies show we get more done when we get the rest our brains and bodies require. Plus, losing can shorten your lifespan by twelve years.

Sleep isn’t a luxury or a guilty pleasure. It’s necessary.

Sleep Tips

These tips aren’t profound. Chances are you’ve heard them before. But you’ll be more productive, a whole lot stressed, and feel ten times better than you do if you follow them. Nothing is more important than your health and well-being. So invest in yourself with good quality sleep.

Bedtime Routine

Yep – this is one we’ve all heard a million times before: Maintain a regular bedtime routine by going to sleep at the same time each night.

Why?

Because it conditions your mind and body to get into a rhythm that makes falling and staying asleep easier.

Eliminate Bedroom Distractions

Get rid of noise, light, and uncomfortable mattresses, pillows, and blankets. Silence your smart devices by putting them in the “do not disturb” or “sleep” mode.

Some people leave their phones in the living room and use an alarm clock instead because they can’t fight the temptation to scroll through social media late into the night.

Get a good lock for your bedroom if people in the house tend to barge in; your health is worth it.

Remove any blinking or ambient lights unless you feel safer with a nightlight.

Turn off any noisy electronics. Get noise-dampening curtains.

Make your bedroom as calm, quiet, and dark as possible.

(Some people grew up in the city surrounded by ambient noise and find it hard to fall asleep when everything is quiet; you do you.)

Reduce Screen Time

Yes, I know, this is another one we’ve heard a million times before. But how our eyes see and process light disrupts sleep at night; bright screens tend to keep our bodies and brains alert.

One of the habits we all need to try to break is looking at our smart devices when trying to fall asleep at night. Why? Because biologically, it’s no different than watching the sunrise, which, in essence, is like telling your body it’s time to wake up!

Meditate

Meditation calms the nervous system by slowing heart rate and reducing stress hormones, paving the way for deep, quality sleep. It’s worth trying if you struggle with insomnia. Give deep breathing (especially box breathing) a try if you haven’t already because it works wonders with inducing sleep!

“Self-love” is all the talk these days. So why not show yourself some love by soothing your mind and body at night with things like reading, enjoying a pleasant conversation with your partner, meditating, or spending a few minutes in soul-relaxing deep breathing before getting your beauty sleep?

If you feel anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed, you’re not really living; you’re existing. So, unlock your best life by investing in your health and well-being; get the sleep you want, need, and deserve to live life to the fullest instead of sleepwalking through life’s most precious moments.

The post Struggling With Insufficient Sleep? appeared first on Lifestyle.

 “Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness and involve excessive fear or anxiety.”

Get this, although there are over a billion searches on “anxiety,” there are over five billion on “worry.” 

WebMD says this about “worry:”

“Worrying is feeling uneasy or being overly concerned about a situation or problem. With excessive worrying, your mind and body go into overdrive as you constantly focus on “what might happen…. In the midst of excessive worrying, you may suffer with high anxiety — even panic — during waking hours. Many chronic worriers tell of feeling a sense of impending doom or unrealistic fears that only increase their worries.”

“Worry” can cause insomnia, making it hard to fall asleep. And, anxiety is often associated with sleep problems. 

If you’ve ever awakened in the middle of the night or early morning hours to feelings of panic, you know what I’m talking about.

Although it’s impossible to “cure” the effects of worry and anxiety in this one article alone, we can reduce their stressful effects to protect our sleep and get better rest because a horrible night’s sleep only worsens things.

4 Great Tips To Reduce Stress for Better Sleep

Worrying about life and feeling stressed, especially these days, is easy. And if we’re not careful, we can easily be paralyzed into a state of fearfulness, even terror. Two significant sources of anxiety and stress are relationships and money.

Great Tip #1: Take Action

Doing nothing amplifies and magnifies feelings of anxiety and stress.

You must do something. Today.

You don’t have to “fix” everything all at once, but you must do something, even something small, today.

Why? Because doing something, even something small takes you from a place of helplessness to a place of control, where you’re controlling the situation instead of the situation controlling you.

The last, worst thing you can ever do is to do nothing – to sit there and wait for the “ax” to fall.

I know it’s hard, but try not to let life happen “to” you.

As long as you have free will and the power of choice, you can do something today to make things better.

Taking action transforms you from a victim to a warrior!

Yes, you might still get a little bloody and suffer some scrapes and scars, but you’re in the battle now, and you’re taking the fight to your “Goliaths!”

It’s your choice: Warrior or victim.

A warrior realizes that he might lose the battle, but he faces his “Goliaths,” believing with all his heart that he will win the war.  

Take action.

Regarding whatever keeps you awake at night, list one or two things you can do today to rise up and “fight” back.

A lot of our worry and anxiety comes from sticking our head in the sand, avoiding important issues or taking action.

Denial, avoidance, laziness, and irresponsibility can all cause worry and stress. So if you want a different tomorrow, take a different course of action today than you’ve been taking to reduce the stress in your life and sleep better tonight.

Great Tip # 2: Transform Your Worries to “Challenges” and then to “Opportunities.”

Compare the emotional impacts of these words: worry, challenge, opportunity. Which word puts you in a better frame of mind to face your situation? Certainly not worry.

Try to reframe your worry into a challenge, and then try to reframe “challenge” into “opportunity.” Worry is about loss. Opportunity is about gain.

Great Tip # 3: Let it Go… At Least for Now.

The brain has a way of obsessing over worries, which can keep you from falling asleep.

Try writing your worry on paper before you go to bed. Give yourself permission to let it go until morning.

While it’s best to let go of your worries once-and-for-all, you can always give yourself a break by letting them go for a set period of time.

Great Tip #4: Live Today.

Bringing tomorrow into today creates worry and overwhelm.

Tomorrow will have its own challenges.

Live today.

Use today to do the next thing you have to do; take life one day at a time.

We tend to worry and feel anxious when we either bring the past or future into today.

Learn from the past and let go.

Have a vision for the future and let go.

Reduce stress by choosing to live in the present by putting your vision to work by deciding what to do next to make your life better.

Let your mind and soul rest so your body can sleep.

3 GREAT TIPS FOR GOOD SLEEP

Great Tip #1: Create a soothing sleep environment.

Your bedroom should be a safe haven—an oasis.

Make your bedroom a place where you can relax and wake up replenished. Maybe that means getting some noise-dampening curtains, a better mattress, or a cooler temperature. Whatever it is, you should be comfortable.

Great Tip #2: Use sound, water, or a sleep mask.

People are different. What helps one person fall asleep might keep another one awake. Those who grew up in the city need a little noise to fall asleep, whereas those who grew up in the country need it to be quiet.

Either way, try experimenting with a white noise machine, ambient app, or earplugs to seal out the noise if you like it quiet. You might even try wearing a sleep mask if too much light filters into your room.

Some people find a soothing hot bath or shower helps them relax and fall asleep.

Great Tip #3: Heavy blankets.

Some people who struggle with worry and anxiety use weighted blankets to soothe the body and reduce stress for help falling asleep; the pressure has a calming effect.

Reducing feelings of stress will help you sleep better and deeper. Taking action to deal with your worries, a.k.a. opportunities, and creating a relaxing sleep environment, are great ways to have less stress and to sleep better!

The post Great Tips For Less Stress and Better Sleep appeared first on Lifestyle.

So, if you’ve been feeling stressed lately, let’s talk about sleep, a powerful antidote for stress. (The odds are that if you feel overly stressed, you’re probably missing out on getting the sleep you need.)

The mind and body are active while we sleep. While we sleep, the body cycles through essential restorative functions. The brain gets rid of toxins and sorts through what happened that day. The body starts the process of repairing and restoring itself.

 How stress affects the mind and body

The fight or flight hormone cortisol is released into the body when we’re under stress. Cortisol can raise blood pressure and make us feel anxious. Cortisol is a lifesaver when we need it. But as you can imagine, when “fight or flight” becomes a lifestyle, bad things happen. Chronic stress increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, to name just a couple. But, guess what sleep does? It reduces cortisol levels and balances the chemistry in the brain and body.  

How stress affects our mood 

Stress affects how we feel emotionally and see things. Have you ever noticed how it’s easier to over or under-react when we’re under a lot of stress? Instead of helping matters, it usually makes things worse, creating even more problems. Some of the things people living with a heightened sense of worry or anxiety will do, are overeat or undereat, have emotional outbursts, or withdraw and isolate themselves. Sleep does a beautiful job at regulating mood swings.

 How stress affects our relationships

Stress affects the quality of our social connections with others. When we’re consumed with worry, feeling anxious, or overwhelmed, our mind is preoccupied with what’s weighing us down, making it very difficult to be fully present and interact positively with others. Stress can take a harmful toll on our relationships if we’re not careful. On the one hand, interacting with others can help ease the effects of stress, but on the other hand, sometimes we need to get away for a little while and deal with matters. Sleep gives us the time to recharge physically, mentally, and emotionally so we can face the world again. Even taking a few minutes to relax in bed before falling asleep can begin restoring energy levels and replenish our spirit, making it easier to connect with others.  

 Sleep is a powerful antidote to stress

Give yourself the gift of replenishing sleep if you’ve had a particularly stressful day or week; your body and spirit need rest. Start winding down early and relax in the comfort of your bed; replenish your spirit by nurturing your soul. Release your worries. Journal, meditate, pray – do something to rest your heart and mind for a healthier outlook on life. Sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s something you can’t live without. So let sleep be the escape you need from the daily onslaught of life and its overwhelming pressures. Recover from the harmful effects of stress by making sleep a priority. Not only will your mind and body recover from stress faster and deal with difficult situations easier, but you will feel happier and enjoy life so much more!

The post Stressed? Sleep. appeared first on Lifestyle.

We spend up to a third of our life sleeping. During sleep, our brain is hard at work restoring and maintaining critical systems. Here’s more information on this amazing process called sleep and how it impacts on our well-being.

SLEEP STAGES

During sleep, your brain cycles between two stages: (rapid-eye movement) REM and non-REM. Each lasts about 90 minutes.

The first part of the sleep cycle is non-REM, which has three phases:

Phase 1 is when you’re just falling asleep.

Phase 2 is light sleep. Body temperature drops and heart rate slows.

Phase 3 is deep, restorative sleep when your heartbeat slows the most.

Following the non-rem stage of sleep is, you guessed it, the REM (rapid eye movement) stage. This is when brain activity is most active; the eyes dart quickly from side to side. Most of your dreams happen during this stage; heart rate increases, and breathing is quicker.

Did you know that during REM sleep your arms and legs are temporarily paralyzed? Sleep experts say it’s your brain’s way of protecting you in case your body tries to act out your dreams.

Deep sleep is essential to memory consolidation and increasing cognitive functions.

WHY IS SLEEP SO IMPORTANT?

It’s amazing what your brain and body do during sleep. They sort through everything you went through during the day to toss away what you don’t need and file away any important information you might need later on.

When you don’t get the sleep your body and brain require, you affect your ability to pay attention and focus because of the detrimental impact to your frontal lobe.

Plus, not getting your sleep affects other physiological and metabolic processes, one of which is increasing risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, to name just a couple. And according to research, a lack of sleep is associated with weight gain because of an imbalance between the hormones that make you feel hungry and full.

Here are some of the other benefits you’ll gain from getting quality rest:

• A stronger immune system

• Reduced risk of certain chronic diseases

• Improved emotional health

• Less stress

• Improved memory

• Improved cognitive function and sharper mental focus

• Improved energy and feeling refreshed

WAYS TO SLEEP BETTER

First of all, sleep experts recommend that adults should get seven to nine hours of quality sleep daily.  A great resource for learning more about sleep is the National Sleep Foundation.

Sleep experts recommend the following tips to sleep better:

• Dim the lights 30 minutes before going to bed

• Make the room temperature comfortable (cooler is better)

• Your mattress, sheets and blankets should be cozy

• Aim for a regular sleep/wake schedule to fall asleep faster and awaken refreshed

• Consider a sleep routine, whether a warm shower before going to bed or light reading

• Avoid caffeine and other stimulants 4-6 hours before bedtime

• Avoid big meals in the evening to give your digestive system a break, making it easier to fall asleep

• Make putting cell phones and smart devices away a part of your sleep routine because the light from their screens disrupts sleep by tricking the brain into thinking their light is sunlight, resulting in melatonin, a hormone that makes you feel sleepy, not being released into your system.

At the end of the day we need to remember why we sleep. It isn’t about not feeling groggy, foggy, or exhausted. It’s about maintaining our health and well-being. Why? So we can unlock our best life and enjoy many more quality of years of life with those whom we love, serve and cherish.

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

The post Why You Need Sleep And How to Get More appeared first on Lifestyle.

But, other studies (perhaps controversial)
indicate a connection between napping and mortality. Napping during the day
increases the risk of premature death by up to a third! Apparently, napping
causes inflammation and increases the risk of respiratory illnesses.

Could it be that people who nap regularly do so
for reasons other than because they feel sluggish in the afternoon? Why do they
nap? Is it for cultural or environmental reasons? Age-related issues?
Underlying health conditions?

Until researchers find conclusive evidence one
way or the other, follow these ground rules to ensure your naps do you more
good than harm.

How to Nap Right

●    No
more than 30 minutes

The health and cognitive benefits of naps
decline rapidly the longer you nap. Naps longer than an hour are bad for your
physical and mental health. They leave you feeling groggy, plus you’re likelier
to make mistakes after waking up from a long nap.

The ideal nap is between 20 and 30 minutes long,
ensuring that you stay within the light stage of sleep and awaken just before
deep sleep begins.

The danger zone is between 30 and 80 minutes because you’ll wake up before the end of the deep sleep phase, making it likelier you’ll have that dreadful groggy feeling. You’d be better off napping for a complete sleep cycle, which is about 90 minutes long.

If you find yourself struggling with keeping
your naps between 20-30 minutes, you might have a hidden health condition like
depression or obstructive sleep apnea.

●    Not
after 3 pm

If you nap too early in the day, you’ll probably just lie awake for 30 minutes because your energy levels are still high. Nap too late in the day, and you’ll likely struggle to fall asleep at night.

The best time for a nap is early afternoon
because that’s when your energy levels start to dip. You’ll fall asleep
quicker, sleep more deeply, and wake up more refreshed.

●    Find
a comfortable place

If you’re serious about napping, find a quiet, comfortable place with few distractions. If you’re at work, you could avoid the noise and bright lights of the office by taking a short nap in your car, if you drive to work. Alternatively, take lunch offsite and use your lunch break for a nap. Napping under your desk isn’t recommended.

●    Naps
are not a replacement for sleep

Napping during the day isn’t a band-aid for poor sleep during the night. You require deep sleep to restore your mind and body; naps only provide light sleep. You’re better off saving the time you would have spent napping by going to bed earlier instead.

Naps aren’t for everyone. Some people love them
while others either lie there will their eyes closed until the alarm goes off,
or wake up two hours later in a panic, not knowing what day it is or where they
are!

If you enjoy naps, try to take them in a comfortable place before 3 pm and keep them under 30 minutes. Also, never use them as a replacement for sleep unless you’re ill or sleep-deprived and need your rest.

Photo by Zohre Nemati on Unsplash

The post Are Naps Really Good For Your Health? appeared first on Lifestyle.