Stress Management: Napping

"All life is like a nap. The more naps you take the better." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Napping feels good, napping feels great, napping gives you a break, so you have your wits when you're awake.

One of the most powerful and therapeutic activities an individual can do is take a nap and relax. I remember when I was younger and didn't appreciate taking naps, but as I got older and had more and more stressors in life then napping became more of a relief to my mind-body connection. All throughout various cultures around the world, such as India, throughout the Mediterranean Sea, Southern Europe, the Middle East, China, and even in Mexico as well. Now how is napping beneficial for your mind-body connection and I will show some practical examples of how I use napping as well for my benefit as well.

According to an article by the Fast Company, (https://www.fastcompany.com/3017356/the-revealing-science-behind-what-naps-do-to-your-brain-and-why-you-should-have-o), they interviewed many doctors and they expounded on the importance of napping and what it can do your overall health. Within their studies they found that napping "decreases your chance of heart disease by 37%, it can increase alertness, boost creativity, REDUCE stress, improve perception, stamina, motor skills, and accuracy, enhance your sex life, aid in weight loss, reduce the risk of heart attack, and brighten your mood and boost memory." Also whenever you have a nap, it enhances your memory and learning capacity as well. There is a great quote in the article which says, "sleep prepares the brain like a dry sponge, ready to soak up new information." Now that I have gone into some science, let's go into some storytelling to prove these facts.

(https://blog.bonsecours.com/healthy/napping-health-benefits-tips/)

I remember being in my mid 20's and working on a new idea for engineering which was a therapeutic robotic animal for mental health patients and then always burning out consistently because I wasn't taking care of my self-care. I remember not being able to focus for my exam and completely failed it. Then I went to my professor after the final exam and he asked me one of the tactics that I can use in order to be more prepared for exams is to take short naps in order for my brain to rest. When I consistently started to implement his advice it helped me tremendously in terms of cognitive abilities and being able to process continual information. This is one of the greatest lessons I have learned applied, and is even one of the reasons why my slogan is rest is reason because the more someone rests, the better cognitive faculties you have!

With that being said, I hope you enjoyed the blog and start taking naps in order to rest and have your wits with you when you wake up. Peace!! :)