Napping is a wellness trend, but what is it for?

Seven out of ten Spaniards declare being tired or very tired, according to the latest Barometer of fatigue developed by Alpha Research, and the 51% of them considers that the person responsible for its exhaustion is the poor quality of your dream nocturnal when they do not suffer, directly, insomnia. If we sleep badly during the day, and we have already had all the coffee that our body admits, is there a better way to combat the exhaustion of after eating than taking a nap?

This must have been the reflection they have made outside our borders, perhaps, because there, as here, everyone is tired. In the United States, for example, the 60% of workersthey claim that very often they feel exhausted during their workday and the 22% You have already discovered the pleasure of having a big head after eating.

The most exhausted (and least trendies) they take a nap in the car. The lucky ones (a scarce 16%) throw it in a place in their company destined to close their eyes for 20 minutes a day. And the elite of the New York elite can book at The Dreamery or ReCOVER to enjoy 30 minutes of rest. A model of a sissy hotel that is also targeted in London with its Pop & Rest.

Now, is it worth paying for 20 minutes of rest? As much as the London and American executives swear that after half an hour with their eyes closed their mind goes full and their productivity grows, what Benefits real has a nap for our brain?

"Bad is not, but not mandatory. People have a daytime circadian rhythm and are made to sleep at night. It is also true that after eating there is a rebound in the circadian rhythm and we can sleep more easily. But a person will work just as well whether he takes a nap or not, ”explains the dr. Carles gaig, Coordinator of the Sleep Study Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology.

Also, remember that the nap is good for the brain only if it is done to the American (that there have been successful) and we sleep from 20 to 30 minutes. “If it lasts an hour or two what this nap is indicating is that we have not slept what we need during the night and that can be a symptom that something is happening, such as that we suffer a Sleep apnea”, Says the expert.

Therefore, remember, it may be that the Anglo-Saxons have now discovered how pleasant it is to take a nap, but you have to disappoint them at one point: the nap is not health (no matter how good it feels). The healthy sleep is nighttime, and in that almost all of us fail.

“The nap doesn't contribute anything. What is good for the brain is to sleep at night the hours they play. Because what has been proven is that little sleep at night has consequences negatives in mental and cognitive functioning the next day in terms of attention, concentration, memory and vigilance. And there are also long-term effects: people who sleep little have a much higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, depression and even degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's. That's where you have to give an important message about sleep and health. The nap is not so relevant and there is no consolidated scientific evidence to say that it is something indispensable, but sleeping well at night, yes it is ”, concludes dr. Carles Gaig