Is napping harmful for our sleep?

January 15, 2015  11:42

Kids do everything to avoid taking a nap. But adults often do not notice how they fell asleep. How can napping affect on the quality of our night sleep?

 Our body's clock creates a feeling of sleepiness between 3.am-5.am and a little in the afternoon, Fox News reports. The longer we stay awake, the deeper we may sleep during the night. Scientists think this is caused by adenosine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, which increases with each waking hour.

Napping causes the brain to get rid of adenosine rapidly, so we may fall asleep at night with a difficulty. However, short naps during the day have their benefits, too.

According to the studies, people who take midday naps perform up to 20% better in memory exercises than those who don't. Researchers claim sleep may clear out the part of the brain, called hippocampus, for new information. It should be noted, that long naps may cause you feeling groggy, so try to take a nap 20 minutes or less.

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