Study Shows Naps Will Make You Smarter

My friends and family call me the nap queen because I schedule naps almost every day. I just love sleep and I love napping – reason number 352,894 I’m scared to have children. But I was starting to wonder if this was a bad habit, a health concern, or just a deep love for zzz’s.

My mom told me I may be anemic but turns out that wasn’t the case. I wake up before the sun every morning, so my energy runs out quicker than most, and I really do enjoy curling up in bed with a giant comforter and shutting out the world for a bit. But I was definitely feeling guilty about it.

After a little research, I discovered my sleeping routine is making me smarter! I’ll explain.

Hopkins Medicine conducted a study involving nearly 3,000 people, where 60 percent of people reported napping after lunch, and here’s what they found:

“People who napped for 30 to 90 minutes had better word recall – which is a sign of good memory – than people who did not nap or who napped for longer than 90 minutes. People who napped for that golden 30 to 90 minutes were also better at figure drawing, another sign of good cognition.”

In other words, my naps are allowing my brain to have better recall skills, making me that much sharper than Gazelle and Michael in the morning (or at least I like to think so). I will point out that Hopkins Medical talked about the importance of keeping the nap under 90 minutes to see the true benefits of nap time. Looks like my two hours of slumber is a bit too much.

But the moral of the story here is don’t be afraid to recharge midday. Your brain will thank you.