What's the point of taking a nap when you're old?
A nap is a pleasant luxury, a small vacation. It can give you some relaxation and rejuvenation. Taking a nap not only removes the stress of the day's work, but also eliminates irritability and maintains a good mood. In addition, taking a nap can also make up for the impact of insomnia at night, which can improve the efficiency of our work in the afternoon, which can be described as a lot of benefits.
It was also found that lunch breaks are part of the natural sleep cycle. A sleep research expert at the University of Florida said the lunch break has gradually evolved into a way for humans to protect themselves. At first, people may rest to avoid the scorching midday sun, but it gradually became a habit.
But naps also have unimaginable hazards. If there are bad habits or incorrect nap methods during naps, it will cause harm to the body. A study found that an extra hour of sleep at noon increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's by 4 times, seriously endangering the health of the elderly.
- An extra hour of sleep at noon increases the risk of dementia by 4 times!
Taking a nap in the afternoon is a popular way of relaxation for young people and middle-aged and elderly people. Taking a nap can not only relieve the fatigue caused by busyness in the morning, but also keep the energy in the afternoon and evening. Even in a sense, the quality of naps determines the quality of life to a large extent.
Although naps are good, sleeping too long can also cause harm to the body. do you know? Always want to nap and nap for a long time, there may be Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers from the University of California, USA recently published an article in the journal. According to the article, studies have shown a two-way relationship between naps and brain aging , that is, excessive naps during the day increase the risk of dementia later in life, and the likelihood of Alzheimer's also increases with longer naps.
To complete the experiment, the research team looked for more than 1,000 elderly people over the age of 80, of which more than 800 had no cognitive impairment .
During the 2-week study period, all participants wore an electronic device on their wrist that measured sleep. The researchers then calculated the duration and frequency of each person's naps throughout the experiment.
The researchers found that during the 14 years of follow-up, among participants without cognitive impairment, nap time increased by an average of 11 minutes per year with age. Participants with mild cognitive impairment tripled their nap time to 24 minutes per day . And those who were diagnosed with Alzheimer's nearly tripled their nap time to 68 minutes per day.
So will naps in turn affect cognition?
At the start of the study, 75% of the participants had no cognitive impairment, 19% had mild cognitive impairment, and 4% had Alzheimer's disease . For the next fourteen years, the participants underwent an annual assessment of cognitive abilities.
Researchers have found that longer or more frequent daytime naps are a key risk factor for Alzheimer's in normal people . Specifically, taking at least one nap of more than an hour a day was associated with a 40% increased risk of dementia compared with people who napped less than an hour a day .
So through this experiment, it was found that taking too long naps or taking frequent naps will increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
This shows that excessive naps not only fail to achieve the purpose of rest and relaxation, but also make people more tired physically and mentally.
So how do you get the most out of your nap? Middle-aged people should keep these "three nos" in mind to ensure a healthy and comfortable nap.
- Middle-aged people keep these "three nos" in mind. Do you know how to sleep in the afternoon?
It is very good for the body for middle-aged and elderly people to take naps frequently, but they should also keep in mind these "three nos". Middle-aged and elderly people should not take a nap as soon as they have eaten lunch, because the food accumulates in the stomach after eating, and the stomach needs to digest food through peristalsis.
If you go to take a nap after eating, it will affect the digestion and absorption of people's stomach, increase the burden on people's stomach , and over time, there will be problems in the stomach and digestive system. In addition to problems with the gastrointestinal system, taking a nap immediately after eating will also make the food in our body unable to be digested and absorbed, causing the body to gain weight. So it's healthier to take a break after lunch to allow the food to digest before taking a nap.
Middle-aged and elderly people should not take a nap for too long . If the nap is too long, it will lead to a transition from a light sleep state to a deep sleep state, causing the brain to have a time illusion. After getting up from a nap, you will feel tired and affect your activity efficiency in the afternoon. It is also important to take a nap for more than one hour. If the middle-aged and elderly people take a nap for more than one hour for a long time, the risk of Alzheimer's disease will be greatly increased.
Middle-aged and elderly people must not be greedy for coolness when taking a nap, blowing against fans and air conditioners , especially in hot summer. In summer, in order to make the nap environment more comfortable, fans or air conditioners are often turned on to reduce the air temperature. But for your health, don't take a nap directly in front of the wind.
Because people are in the state of sleep, the pores on the body will open , and at this time, the cold wind will enter the body through the pores, which is what we often call cold. Our body resistance will decline, which will cause symptoms such as colds, headaches, fever, and in severe cases, facial paralysis.
The physique of middle-aged and elderly people is far inferior to that of young people, so do not lead to misfortune in old age for the sake of temporary comfort. So how can we have a good nap effect? The following few tips can help us take a better nap.
Third, these few tips make the nap effect better!
Sometimes people will find that the body will feel tired after taking a nap. This is actually a very normal body reaction, and the main reasons for this happening are as follows. Therefore, if you want to feel refreshed after a nap, here are a few tips to learn.
To correctly grasp the nap time. Many people don't care about the sleep time when they take a nap, because they think that as long as they sleep, no matter how long they sleep, they can achieve the purpose of recuperation.
But in fact, taking a long nap will cause our brains to generate a wrong message, and the body clock will also change, causing the body to think that it is night and need a long sleep. Therefore, it is advisable to control the nap time to about half an hour.
Some people sleep more casually because they are tired and have no suitable place to take a nap. However , the incorrect sleeping posture will make our body still in a tense state when we sleep, so that the effect of rest cannot be achieved .
It is best to choose to sleep on the bed for a nap, which is more stretched when sleeping on the bed, and will not have some adverse effects on the spine or lumbar spine of the body.
If you always lie down on the table to sleep, it is very likely that the chest will be oppressed, it will make it difficult to breathe, and it will also make people feel very sore in the neck and waist. After a long time, it is easy to get lumbar spondylosis or spondylosis. So try to create a comfortable nap environment for yourself, and lie down as much as you can to relax your body.
Office workers or students often fall asleep immediately after eating in order to obtain sufficient nap time due to the short lunch break. Try not to do this. If you lie down and go to bed immediately after eating, it will affect the digestion of food, and it will affect gastrointestinal function over time. It is best to be active after eating, and then go to sleep after half an hour of activity.
Do not work or study immediately after a nap. After the nap, be sure to give yourself a buffer time, you can go to drink some water or wash your face, or go to activities, and then devote yourself to work or study.
The above few tips will allow us to fully utilize the true effect of naps. In addition to allowing our body and mind to rest and relax, naps are also good at treating diseases. Some people say that naps are another antihypertensive drug that can lower blood pressure. Is this true?