While people can feel the impact of tiredness throughout different stages of their lives, overall, it’s younger Brits that are more likely to feel tired than older ones. One in three Brits (32%) have only been getting seven hours of sleep a night, 27% get about six hours, and one in eight (12%) are surviving on only five hours. While eight hours of sleep is recommended, most people will need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. That means over a 30 day period, 56% of Brits have a sleep deficit of between 90 and 30 hours.
Although we can’t always guarantee to achieve those all-important eight hours a night, studies show that an afternoon nap is great for adults, and there’s no reason for us to feel lazy in indulging in a daytime sleep. A short nap in the mid-afternoon is proven to boost memory, improve job performance, lift your mood and make you more alert and ease stress.
Cannaray CBD has launched a national call to arms, encouraging the nation to embrace naps! The self-confessed Queen of Naps and Cannaray CBD spokeswoman Claudia Winkleman admits that naps are an integral part of her daily routine – having not one but two naps during her day, ‘I think there’s always been a lot of stigma around napping – like it means you’re lazy or have a lack of drive. For me I think it’s the opposite – it’s scientifically proven that power naps help you be more productive, lift your mood and make you more alert. As someone who is working on lots of projects at once, why wouldn’t I nap so that I can be my best possible self? We’re a nation of tired zombies, it’s time to embrace naps.’
While this may not be for everyone, there is plenty of evidence to show that incorporating a nap into your daily routine will help you live better, brighter lives.
Anytime we fall asleep, we begin to move through a series of sleep stages. Researchers found that five-minute naps are too short of moving deep enough through sleep stages to produce a notable benefit, whilst sleeping for 30 minutes or longer allows the body to enter deep sleep and leave you feeling groggy for up to an hour afterwards. That is why the best nap length in most situations is long enough to be refreshing but not so long that sleep inertia occurs. Naps lasting 10–20 minutes are considered the ideal length, sometimes called ‘power naps’ because they provide recovery benefits without leaving the napper feeling sleepy afterwards.
Napping during the day diminishes homeostatic sleep drive (the pressure to sleep), which can help us feel more awake and perform better. As a result, napping can help with:
- Reducing sleepiness
- Improving learning
- Aiding memory formation
- Regulating emotions
By napping just 20 minutes a day, we can make up over 121 hours of sleep a year. This National Sleep Month, implement Cannaray CBD into your naptime routine, with CBD products that specialise in aiding in sleep and overall wellbeing. Rest easy with Night-Time CBD Oil Drops and wake up with Bright Days CBD oil drops or capsules.