This after scientists revealed that sleeping twice per day – one full night’s rest and a leisurely nap – during the day can bring a lot of health benefits.
Sleeping twice per day can lead to long life
Australian researchers Melinda Jackson, senior researcher at the RMIT University and Siobhan Banks- senior research fellow at the Center for Sleep Research at the University of Australia, claimed that having two sleep periods in a day can help increase performance, alertness and creativity throughout the day instead of having extended waking periods the allows sleepiness to build up resulting to reduced productivity.
They claimed that a look back in history revealed that there is proof that sleeping twice a day used to be a norm practiced in different periods throughout the generations. It was only during recent times that sleeping was reduced to one single period with increasing work demand and drive for productivity in the workplace.
One classic example is the Spanish quintessential siesta- a traditional two to three hour break that starts around 2 in the afternoon and used for naps.
Only recently Spanish residents were in an uproar when the prime minister of Spain wanted to put an end to siesta breaks. Many claimed that the body clock naturally ‘craves’ for a siesta as a result of the reduction in mental and physical alertness in the early afternoon.
Jackson and Banks said that among the benefits of sleeping twice in a day allow for more work flexibility, family time, reduces risks of insomnia and enhances performance, however, the researchers cautioned about the downsides of it.
The timing needs to be right as the sleep session does not mean to just getting into bed would let you fall asleep right away and consume the entire time in a sleep phase which could eventually end up less effective than expected. Besides, a two to three-hour nap time do not usually bid well for the American workplace.
Some corporations, however, have started to embrace the value of a good nap-time during the day. Arianna Huffington, founder and president of Huffington Post agree with the concept of workplace napping.
“Sleep makes us more productive, creative, less stressed and much healthier and happier. Even a 20-minute nap in the middle of the day can make a huge difference. I grew up thinking that if you work around the clock, you are going to be more effective, and I realize that is not true,” Huffington added.
Image Credit: Researchers say sleeping twice a day is good for you – NBC News
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