Have you ever taken a nap during the day and upon waking up you simply feel ~refreshed~? Admittedly, we’ve taken a number of naps that we’ve woken up from and had no recollection of what day or time it is, but for the most part, scientists think we should be napping and we fully support those findings. Let’s take a look, shall we?
(image via: istock)
Lack of sleep, or sleep deprivation, can actually cause a lot of health damage in the form of obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart attack, and even death, just to name a few. But we also have to consider a driver falling asleep at the wheel or an exhausted surgeon during a surgery where precision is vital. Research tells us that losing just one night’s sleep can keep our brains from functioning like normal, and for the driver behind the wheel or the surgeon with the knife, it can mean life-altering mistakes due to lack of sleep.
Lack of sleep can cause you to slur your speech. The temporal lobe is associated with our language processing, and it’s super active in those of well-rested folks; however, those that aren’t well-rested tend to not be so enunciated. If you’re so tired that you’re slurring your words, please do us a favor and get some heckin’ sleep.
Research shows that even in well-rested people, a nap here and there is really good for reaction time, reasoning, and symbol recognition. So basically naps just make you all-around sharper. And it doesn’t stop there, have you ever noticed without a nap you get a little emotional? Maybe your patience is just shot or any little thing has you on the brink of tears? Well, science tells us you’re just a cat nap away from having full control over your emotions.
(image via: istock)
Two words: false memories. People that are in need of some extra zzzs tend to remember things a little differently than they happened. This is due to the altered function of the hippocampus as well as the prefrontal cortex and parietal lobe regions.
You know that terrible moment when someone says something and you just know there’s a witty comment or great joke you can making somewhere in there, but it’s just not coming to you? Say it with us: due to lack of sleep. Sleep loss affects certain processes like divergent thinking. Take a nap and you’ll be crackin’ jokes left and right.
Skimping on sleep is a great way to kill brain cells. That’s right, lack of sleep can cause brain damage by way of your brain stem. So if you’re feeling tired, simply rest. Your brain needs it and scientists back your decision.