The content of this podcast is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as,

nor should it be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.

I am Karen Nichol, Family Nurse Practitioner, and you are listening to Ichi and Bicci,

a podcast that provides answers to your many unanswered health questions.

As my husband headed upstairs to take his daily nap, which he calls reading, not napping,

I thought, I'm going to talk about napping on today's podcast. When is napping a healthy option,

and when is it a warning sign? Well, in a 2017 survey by the National Safety Council,

two-thirds of respondents said they feel tired at work. 53% feel less productive,

and 44% have trouble focusing, so it's a bit of a problem. Naps seem to, like an obvious solution to

our new sleep blows while they can help, they're not always the trick to a well-rested existence.

But what are the napping benefits? Well, when done correctly, oh, yeah, there is a right way to

nap. There's nothing wrong with taking a nap. In fact, a short siesta can boost your mental

health and physical health. Let's just take a glance at those benefits. First of all,

taking a power nap leaves you feeling more alert. In turn, your brain should function more

efficiently, so there's better cognition. That is why some of the most well-known businesses out

there, like Google, Nike, and organizations like NASA, and many others, are investing in

nap pods and transforming conference spaces into sleep rooms. Research has shown that

naps decrease the level of a denison in the brain, and a denison is a neurotransmitter that is

sleep promoting and plays a role in cognition. Naps may promote a process where our brain turns

information into long-term memory called memory consolidation. I don't know about you, but I feel

like I do memorize while I'm sleeping. I may be wrong, but it feels like that at times anyway.

A good nap right after learning something new appears to help us retain that information.

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