FitSugar

Another Reason to Get More Sleep: Performance

FitSugar — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:15:00 -0700

Your lack of sleep could be affecting your performance at the gym...

The amount of sleep a person gets affects his or her physical health, emotional well-being, mental abilities, productivity and now performance too. Studies have associated lack of sleep with serious health problems such as an increased risk of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

According to new research presented at SLEEP 2007, athletes who get an extra amount of sleep are more likely to improve their performance in a game including faster sprint time and increased free-throws. Furthermore, athletes also reported increased energy and improved mood during practices and games, as well as a decreased level of fatigue.

What does this mean to you? Well, get more sleep, even if you're not an athlete. If you're overtired, you may not get as much out of your exercise routine as you should. Besides, no one ever said, "Gosh, I am too rested to workout today", now did she?

Fit's Tip: It is recommended that adults get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. Don't have time? Then at the very least, try to fit in a nap during the day. Work isn't the issue, being a mom is? Then ask your husband to help you sleep an hour more tomorrow morning.

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Napping 101

FitSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0700

Most people I know, with my 3-year-old being the unfortunate exception, like to take naps. Napping is good for the health of your heart and reducing your stress level. You can maximize the benefits of your nap using these tips from the good old docs at the Harvard School of Health.

Work with your circadian rhythm: Plan to take your nap at a good time in your daily sleep-wake cycle; for many people, sometime between noon and 4 p.m. is best.
Keep it short and sweet: Don’t sleep too long; a 20- to 40-minute nap may refresh your day without keeping you up at night.
Wake up slowly: Give yourself 10 to 15 minutes to wake up fully before you resume a demanding task.

I hear my pillow calling around 3 p.m. How about you?

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Do You Take Naps Regularly?

FitSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:30:29 -0700

I just read that about one-third of American adults take naps regularly. I am jealous. Napping regularly sounds quite luxurious to me - it is rare that I get to take a snooze in the middle of the day. Now that my 4- year-old is giving up her nap, my chances are even slimmer. A recent survey found a gender split on napping, with men taking siestas more frequently than women. The survey also broke down napping by income level and folks making between $75,000 and $100,000 napped less often than those in the surrounding income brackets. What about you?

Need an Afternoon Pick-Me-Up? Take a Nap

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:00:00 -0700

Next time your colleagues invite you on an afternoon coffee break, tell 'em you'll just take a nap instead. According to a new study by the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University in England, a short nap may be the best way to fend off afternoon drowsiness.

The study involved 20 young adults, all of whom felt well-rested and got about seven and a half hours of sleep a night. Over the course of a week, each subject tried three different methods for battling postlunch sleepiness: sleeping in an extra 90 minutes in the mornings, taking a 20-minute nap, and consuming the equivalent of two cups of coffee in the afternoon. For the results of the study, read more.

To test each method, the researchers measured how sleepy the subjects were later in the afternoon by seeing how long it took them to fall asleep for a nap. Here's what they found:

When the volunteers did nothing, they fell asleep within nine minutes on average when tested at 3:30 in the afternoon. Sleeping late kept people awake only a minute longer on average than did doing nothing. Caffeine worked better, keeping people awake for about 12 minutes longer on average.

But nothing beat a nap. After a 20-minute nap, people nearly doubled the amount of time it took to fall asleep when tested later in the afternoon, indicating that they were no longer sleepy. None of the measures impaired people’s ability to fall asleep at night.

Isn't that just fascinating? I guess the Spanish have the right idea with their siestas. I have definitely found myself feeling refreshed after catnaps, but I never knew they were so effective. Too bad that lying down on the office couch isn't as socially acceptable as taking a coffee break. Do you think it should be?

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Love Your Heart - Take a Nap

FitSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:45:00 -0800

I love to nap and now I have an excuse - it is good for the heart!!!! Kind of funny to use so many exclamation points about the quiet act of napping.

A recent study in Greece concluded that those who participated in "napping at least three times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes had a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease compared to non-nappers."

It is believed that napping helped relieve some of the work related stress that is also considered detrimental to the health of the heart. So much so that the benefits of napping were more significant in employed men than unemployed men. Unfortunately there were not enough women participating in the study to create significant data one way or the other. I am still going to nap as much as I can.

I might even suggest to my bosses that we get one of these MetroNap pods for the office. See you in dream land.

Napping Improves Your Memory

FitSugar — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:30:00 -0800

Raise your hand if you're gearing up for a Thanksgiving food coma on the couch! While lying down after a huge meal doesn't help the digestion process, napping is good for your brain.

A recent study shows snoozing for a short time may help to boost your memory, and help you learn new tasks and ideas. It may also encourage creativity and the ability to see the big picture. Scientists have discovered that the "slow-wave sleep" that occurs in the beginning of a sleep session is more important than the REM, or dream sleep that occurs once you've been sleeping for a while. That means a power nap, even a short 12-minute nod can be beneficial to our bodies and to our brains. Happy napping!

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Do You Take Naps?

FitSugar — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:30:00 -0700

Napping is not just for the little people under three-years-old. Nope; it is good for everyone. A 30-minute snooze can reduce stress and might even make you more productive. Though I rarely have a chance to lie down in the afternoon and take a power nap, I would love to. How about you . . .

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Meditate For a Healthy Heart

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:31 -0800

My father introduced TM (transcendental meditation) to me my senior year of high school as a way to unwind, relax, and fight stress as I headed off to college. Since then, I've always felt lucky to know a kind of secret way to recharge my batteries, without needing a nap. But I was surprised to learn that practicing meditation has another heath benefit for your heart.

It turns out regular practice of TM doesn't just help your psychological well-being; it has also been shown to have significant therapeutic effects on people at high risk for heart attacks. A recent study, which followed 200 patients for five years, reveals that "the high-risk patients who meditated cut their risk of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from all causes roughly in half compared with a group of similar patients who were given more conventional education about healthy diet and lifestyle."

According to Dr. Robert Schneider, director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention, who presented the study's findings, TM's ability to help reduce blood pressure is essential to helping prevent heart attacks and heart complications, “We found reduced blood pressure that was significant – that was probably one important mediator," claims Schneider.

TM is also easy to learn and practice - it doesn't require specific education, and from my own experience, I totally agree with Dr. Schneider - "it's a straightforward technique for getting deep rest to the mind and body."

Naptime: No Longer Just for 2 Year Olds

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 09:00:00 -0800

Mid-week comes along and wouldn't if be great if you could just leave work for a little while and take a nap. Clearly there are some obvious conflicts with napping while you're on the clock, but yawn- you're just so tired that you're not able to do your job properly. What's a worker in corporate America to do?

MetroNaps has created a napping boutique of sorts. MetroNaps firmly believes that we are not getting enough sleep and if we were just allowed the opportunity to nap during the day, we would be a lot more alert and productive. I gotta say, I agree MetroNaps! Finally someone that understands!

To find out how to nap with MetroNaps, read more

The way it works is that you pay for your nap time ($14 for a single 20-minute session and $64 for a monthly pass) in their reclining pod, which looks like it's straight out of the Jetsons. No need to worry about noise because they supply you with noise reduction headphones and if you're worried about sleeping through your 2 o'clock meeting, don't be. The pod's timer will wake you up with a combination of vibrations and lights. Now all they need is someone to stand above you and wipe off the drool.

Currently there are only 3 MetroNaps locations in North America (two in NYC and one in Vancouver) but have no fear, MetroNaps offers the option to lease pods to offices. Imagine having a napping pod in the break room... and you thought the line for the microwave was bad! I have even heard that some corporations in NYC require their over-workers to visit MetroNaps NYC locations for a nap.

And, if you get your boss to get one of these, I need to know exactly how you pulled it off!

Dealing With the End of Daylight Saving

FitSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:47:19 -0800

Although sleep experts believe "falling back" and gaining an hour in Autumn is easier than losing an hour in Spring, it will still take your body a few days to acclimate to the time change. Here are a few tips on how to keep the change from adversely affecting your sleep habits:

As much as it may seem like a good idea, avoid drinking extra caffeine for a few days after the time shift.
Similar to avoiding that extra cup of joe, you should avoid taking a nap. Napping can interfere with your ability to fall asleep at the proper bedtime.
Catch early morning rays. This could be with a run or just basking in the sunlight through a window.
Don't get behind the wheel if you're feeling sleepy. Driving and dozing is a dangerous thing.