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A bit afternoon snooze can assist you to feel more rested—and it will probably do you good in other ways, too. A small study from China was published online on January 25, 2021. General Psychiatry suggests that a day nap (between five minutes and two hours) may be good in your memory and pondering skills. Researchers put greater than 2,200 older adults through a series of health screenings that included blood tests and cognitive assessments, and in addition asked participants if and the way often they slept. About 1,500 participants were nappers. Compared to individuals who didn't nap, nappers performed higher on cognitive tests, scoring higher on spatial awareness, verbal fluency and memory. The study was observational, so it will probably't be proven that napping led to raised results on cognitive tests. Previous studies have shown that the advantages of afternoon naps decrease with age and sleep duration. Short, frequent naps (lower than half-hour, 4 times per week) are related to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, individuals who take longer naps (two hours or more) have worse cognitive function, even though it is unclear what’s cause and what’s effect.
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