Napping for the Age Enhanced

I don’t feel old.

I’m pretty good about food and exercise. I have more time to explore my interests and expand my career than ever before.

But more and more I’m finding that I can’t shut off my brain at night. Insomnia leads to crappy sleep which leads to an unhappy me the next day.

Despite that, when my husband suggests I take a quick nap to refresh, I just can’t do it. Not just because there is so much to do, but because I can’t settle down and sleep.

According to the National Library of Medicine, “Older adults are more likely to take naps during the daytime due to age-related changes in circadian rhythms and sleep patterns.” Whether it’s because of medications or restless sleep during the night or the change of scheduling due to retirement, older adults can and do take naps more often.

Sleep Is Not My Friend

Of course, I used to nap all the time in college. It was almost a right of passage; cramming late into the night, napping in between classes, and then repeating the process the next day. When I started working in the “real world,” I would inevitably have my three o’clock slump that I would dose with a caffeinated soda. And when I had kids, I would nap with them to battle the sleep-deprivation of middle-of-the-night mishaps from hourly feeding to bad dreams.

It’s just that it’s been years since I’ve had that type of sleeplessness. And yet, I feel as if I’m coming full circle.

I don’t sleep well at night because my brain is revved up and spinning at all hours of the day and night. I wake up tired. Yet, when I hit my 3 o’clock slump, I resist settling down and resting my eyes and body.

After doing some research, I’m realizing that maybe avoiding afternoon naps like a toddler during playtime might not be such a good thing. Information on webmd.com suggested that short naps — or even rest times — can improve your memory and cognitive ability, ease stress, and enhance your mood.

Memory Processing

When things happen throughout our day, our brain stores the unsorted, experienced events into our hippocampus, the center of memory processing and emotions. Studies have shown that when we sleep, our brain replays those events back and sorts them into shared locations, similar to how children sort out different colors of Lego into bins. No matter what age, sleeping, even during a nap, helps the connections between memories get stronger, allowing people to access those memories better.

Another study indicated that taking a short nap after learning a new skill was better than simply taking a short break. And people who took regular naps were also better at remembering information and skills a week after the fact. If you’re looking to learn a new language or memorize the state capitals for Sporcle, learn and nap to reinforce what you learned.

Stress Relief

Throughout the day, stress hormones build in your system. Usually, a good night’s sleep will alleviate those hormones, rebuilding your body. However, in cases where you don’t get a good night’s sleep or you’re dealing with an excess of stress, a quick nap can also work in the same way.

A good nap can lower your blood pressure, too, which is good for your hearth health. When you’re dealing with a lot of stress, whether it’s from work or home or other situations, a nap can decrease the stress, lower your stress hormones, and keep you healthy.

Mood Enhancement

When you’re tired, you’re grumpy and irritable. Your body systems are unbalanced, especially if you haven’t gotten enough sleep at night. A nap can help that.

Experts at the Cleveland Clinic say, “after a midday nap, people are less impulsive and can deal better with frustration.” Just like a good nap can decrease your stress hormones, it can also balance your endocrine hormones that make you feel tired and ill-tempered.

And let’s face it, waking up from up a good, restful nap makes everything seem better because your body feels refreshed and rejuvenated.

The Nap Defined

There are some caveats for correct napping.

Although my research came up with varied results, in general, your nap should be between 15 and 45 minutes. Any longer and you’ll experience sleep inertia, that gross groggy feeling that leaves you in a haze.

You want to nap in the early afternoon if you are tied to a day-time schedule like the majority of humanity. Later than four o’clock might leave you with too much energy to sleep at night. You can imagine the vicious circle that starts.

If you can’t fall asleep, resting achieves the same result. Laying down and closing your eyes replenishes your energy just as effectively.

Be Aware

Each person is individual so each person responds differently. However, please be aware that if you are napping because you are consistently not sleeping well at night or because you can’t function during the day, either mentally or physically, beyond what would be considered healthy, you should see a doctor.

Face the Music…I mean, the Nap Time

Sleep is one of the basic building blocks of a healthy body along with food and exercise. With each new phase of my life, I’ve experienced disruptions in my sleep cycles that I’ve had to work around.

The difference between earlier bouts of sleep deprivation and now is that before I embraced the idea of a nap with open arms. And now, I’m not as excited about it.

Snapping at my family and being impatient with something as inconsequential as a slow printer tell me that maybe I should re-think that attitude.

Luckily for me, there is a fix for my 3 o’clock slump and my Oscar, the Grouch, impersonation — a quick nap.