Experts say adequate sleep is critical for our physical and emotional well-being, but many Kentuckians don’t get enough of it. For some of those folks, that’s where naps come in. But some naps are better than others, according to Dr. Robert Murray, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky’s Sleep Medicine Clinic.
“If you are going to nap, the recommendation is to take a short nap early in the afternoon. So the ideal is lunchtime for around 20 minutes.”
Murray, who was a guest on Eastern Standard last month, said short naps help with memory, emotional regulation and sleepiness. He said naps longer than 90 minutes can actually be harmful.
“The longer you are to nap, the more the blood pressure and heart rate drops and then has to recover. So that's been shown to be associated with heart disease and stroke and high blood pressure and also with some diabetes.”
Murray said exiting a nap from REM stage – when the brain is active and dreams occur – can leave nappers feeling as if they hadn’t napped at all.
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