Ask anyone at FutureDerm, and they will tell you that I love naps. I don’t think that a nap is the greatest thing since sliced bread; I think a nap is better than sliced bread. Frankly, the convenience of pre-sliced bread can’t even hold a candle to the gloriousness of a nap, and I’d gladly give it up for a regular midday snooze.
Recently, breathtakingly gorgeous former Givenchy muse China Machado said, “I make myself lie down every afternoon; otherwise, I’ll be too exhausted by the nighttime.” She doesn’t even look close to her 83-year-old age, and I wondered if her regular nap regime might have something to do with it. In fact, I’ll go so far as saying that I hoped her napping had something to do with it.
It seems plausible, right? I mean, babies nap ALL DAY and look how young they look! But, seriously, I decided to do the research (and the shut-eye) to determine if naps could really help you stay young.
Youth Benefit #1: More Beauty Rest
Sleep happens in 90-minute cycles that repeat throughout the night. This is further broken up into four stages, and it’s in the third and fourth stages that restoration of the body happens. This includes tissue repair and healing of inflammation that keeps skin elastic and looking young (Sleep Foundation; Better Nutrition).
Sleep deprivation speeds up the aging process by slowing the hormones involved in this skin-mending process. Though naps might not do the most work to keep skin supple, they have other skin-saving benefits that you wouldn’t think of.
Youth Benefit #2: Smarter Snacking
Ever hit that point in the middle of the day where
you’re ready to tackle your coworker to grab the last Kit-Kat out of her grubby little hands? Yeah, we’ve all been there. Tired people are more drawn to foods with a high sugar and fat content, and a study on tired men showed that they increased their food intake after just one night of reduced sleep (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition).
Unfortunately, getting that sugar fix also means a spike in blood sugar that could lead to a process called glycation that results in faster aging skin. (To read more about glycation, check out Nicki’s illustrated article about the process).
A short nap can stop you from reaching for the wrong kinds of snacks, and keep you looking younger in the long run.
Youth Benefit #3: Reduced Stress
Sleep deprivation is a particularly unjust stressor. First, sleepy people are just less able to maintain a happy mood, period (International Journal of Psychophysiology). But sleep deprivation also impairs your top-notch thinking abilities, meaning that you’re not working as well or as efficiently (Journal of Sleep Testing).
Talk about stress on stress on stress. In addition to making you feel crabby, stress also does a number on your skin. It causes the skin’s neurotransmitters to go haywire, suppressing the immune system and constricting blood flow, leading to sallow, exhausted-looking skin (The New Science of Perfect Skin).
A short nap can improve your energy and cognitive function better than a jolt of caffeine. (The combination can actually give you the best energy boost of all.) But a nap has another edge over caffeine in that it relaxes you, rather than getting you even more worked up. In one study, researchers found that people who took an hour to nap midday had lower stress levels and blood pressure than those who didn’t (The Journal of Behavioral Medicine).
A nap means less stress, better work, and more beautiful skin. Just tell your boss that napping makes you an even better employee. In fact, some companies, like Google and Proctor & Gamble, encourage a little napping on the job.
3 Tips to Nap Like a Pro
Not only is there a ton of research on why the awesomeness of naps isn’t just my biased opinion, but a scientific thing — there’s also a lot on the best way to nap (Journal of Sleep Research).
- Be prepared to invest a little, but not too much, time: The ideal nap is between 10 and 20 minutes of actual sleep time, which might involve more time when you include falling asleep. Shorter than 10 minutes and there are few benefits, longer than 20 and you risk sleep inertia, that groggy feeling when you wake up.
- Nap at the right time: The best time to avoid grogginess and to get benefits is between 3 and 5 p.m., when your circadian rhythm nudges you into afternoon sleepiness. And definitely avoid napping between 7 and 9 p.m., which this article refers to as the “evening forbidden zone for sleep.”
- Nap regularly to build tolerance. Seriously, habitual nappers get more benefits from napping and also had less grogginess post-nap (Biological Psychology).
Bottom Line
Places with siestas really have it right. Napping probably isn’t the key to youth, but it can definitely make an impact in keeping you and your skin spry. By adding to sleep you might be missing at night, helping you avoid sugary foods, and reducing stress, it can help to keep you, and your skin, at optimal health. Just be careful to nap at the right time and for the right length to make sure you avoid sleep inertia or ruining the quality of your night’s sleep.
But really, as someone who’s a believer in the power of a nap (I won’t say names, but FutureDerm has other staffers who agree with me), I can attest to the energizing and stress-reducing effects of a few quick Z’s. In fact, all this talk about naps is making me sleepy…