Different studies confirm that a short nap, of between 10 and 20 minutes, clarifies our ideas and puts us back on track. In addition, this habit, when it lasts up to 45 minutes, helps reduce blood pressure, improves metabolism and promotes creativity . However, napping does not suit everyone and, in fact, there is not much talk about the contraindications of daytime dreams.
These are some of the problems with napping:
1. Drag very bad reputation
When a foreign media wants to draw a topical profile of the customs of the Spanish, there is always a siesta. The New York Times did so in 2014 in a report on the initiative of the National Commission for the Rationalization of Hours that advocates that we adopt a more European working day. As the newspaper points out, it would mean the end of this practice, assuming that it is part of our DNA. Nothing is further from reality.
According to research in the journal Neurology , Hispanic yoga, as Cela called it, should be renamed German yoga, because 22% of Germans admit to napping at least three times a week. The research confirmed that it is an increasingly less frequent custom in southern European countries: it is practiced by 15% of Italians and only 9% of Spaniards; and on the other hand, despite the bad image it has, 16% of the British admit it.
2. Sometimes it causes a headache
It is rare, but it can trigger a specific type of pain known as a hypnic headache or wake-up headache. Sleep acts as a switch for this problem of unknown origin. It is only known to affect people who are biologically predisposed to suffer from it and, in general, from the age of fifty. The intensity is usually moderate, but annoying enough to interrupt your rest. And it has a peculiarity: it is stronger in men than in women. The headache can last from twenty minutes to several hours, affecting the left side of the head, the right side, or both at the same time.
3. In the mature ones it does not work
According to the Sleep Institute of the Pellegrin Hospital in Bordeaux, in France, as we get older, the nod stops having the effects on the restoration of attention attributed by the studies. They saw him comparing its consequences in a group of young people between twenty and twenty-five and in another in their forties who were put behind the wheel half an hour after having had coffee or having taken a half-hour nap. The alert status was measured by counting the times the vehicle stepped on the side of the road. The conclusion was clear: while in young people rest had the same consequences as coffee – it kept them awake and they could be attentive to driving – in mature ones it did not. The risk of stepping on the road line was reduced by 23% among those over forty, and among those in their twenties it reached 66%.
4. Promotes insomnia
Each person has a sleep-wake rhythm , but some are so vulnerable that a nap can ruin a night’s rest. To tackle the problem, according to specialists, it is necessary to detect what the cause is and also, explains Dr. Antonio Pedrera, “it is advisable to apply hygiene measures: if a person suffering from insomnia goes to sleep after eating, it must be during very little time and leaving an interval of at least seven hours between nap and night “. Of course, for some historical insomniacs, like Thomas Edison, frequent dozing was a form of survival, claimed the Italian researcher Claudio Stampi.
5. With advanced COPD, prohibited
Unless the device that guarantees good oxygenation of the blood during sleep is on hand, people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a contraindicated nap . “The reason is that the relaxation of the musculature that occurs during rest can make the patient unable to mobilize enough air to breathe properly and appear fatigue or even respiratory failure – lack of oxygen that can be linked to the difficulty of eliminating carbon dioxide– “, explains Dr. Pedrera. This fact can be serious, since the blood is not purified as in normal breathing.
6. Accentuates gastric problems
Staying transposed has its science. When not done correctly it can be a source of problems for individuals with some ailments. “If someone with a hiatal hernia lies down freshly eaten, they are going to have gastroesophageal reflux and the rest is not going to be restorative; therefore, it is better that they sleep sitting up,” recommends María Sainz. The same rule should apply to very obese people. Specialists recommend that they let them pass for a while and move a little before falling asleep, so that the food goes down. Why are they forbidden to lie down? This doctor explains it: “They tend to go into a very deep sleep and are in danger of falling asleep for too long.”
7. May indicate sleep apnea
If a person needs to rest at noon for more than an hour to clear themselves, they should go to the doctor to check for apnea. Sleep may be due to interruptions in breathing that occur during the night that make it unrefreshing. According to a study by pulmonologists at the San Pedro de Alcántara Hospital, in Cáceres, 64% of patients who slept for so long after eating had this problem, and as a consequence they had a higher risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Specialists maintain that apnea is between 2.5 and 5.5 times more frequent among people who practice the Olympic nap.
