Naps: college students and kindergarteners love them. Now, there may be proof that catching a few zzz's in the afternoon can be beneficial to your health.
"Research shows that the benefits of naps include increased productivity, alertness, creativity, problem solving ability, lowers stress levels, rejuvenates the body and enhances moods," said Kathleen Grace-Bishop, director of health education at Health Services.
A recent study by the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., estimates that 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleeping disorders, "hindering daily functioning and adversely affecting health and longevity."
The report, released on April 4, describes how sleep deprivation and sleep disorders negatively affect a person's health, performance and overall well-being.
According to Marci Cleary, spokesperson for the National Sleep Foundation, naps are beneficial to those people who are sleep deprived, including students who might not always have normal sleeping habits.
A two nap per week kind of guy, Junior Danny Estremera said, "It is nice to take time out for yourself and just rest."
When he sees other students dozing off in class, Estremera thinks others definitely lack in the sleeping department.
"If you take a nap or two a week, I think that students will be more alert and feel refreshed," he suggested.
Another follower of scheduled naps, Junior K. Lee Mock sets aside some time on Thursday afternoons to nap at home in Dover before returning to campus to complete school work.
At other times, this napping regular makes impromptu visits to what she and her friends call "the nursery" - the room on the third floor of the Memorial Union Building with the fireplace.
Mock says of napping benefits, "You zone out from reality, daydream a little, and it's cheaper than alcohol."
Max Krueger, 2005 graduate of UNH and creator of the Facebook.com group Advocates of Nap, says naps are something one should take advantage of in college.
"Let me assure you, you don't get a lot of time to nap when you have a solid 40-hour a week job. Trust me," Krueger, an assistant editor with the History Channel, said.
Not only can you use naps for an afternoon energy boost, but when that feeling of sleep is overcoming you, Cleary says it could save your life to take a short nap.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, 100,000 to 150,000 car crashes a year are caused by drowsiness.
"If you are driving and feel drowsy, pull over and nap," Cleary said, pointing out that pit stops should be made in safe areas.
While napping may seem to be an amazing cure-all, it can interfere with sleep.
Grace-Bishop recommends not taking a nap too late in the day.
"If you sleep too late in the day or take too long of a nap, it can interfere with the ability to get and stay asleep," she said. Also, the quality of your sleep can be adversely affected.
"We need to be careful not to depend on naps to replace sleep," said Grace-Bishop. "Getting the number of sleep hours needed each night is very important."
Krueger notes that a difference between naps and sleeping "is staying in your clothes as opposed to changing into pjs."
But there is an even greater difference, according to Cleary.
"Many people think sleep is a passive activity. It is not." The body goes through many important functions during sleep that are not performed, or not fully completed, when someone naps, Cleary said.
On the less scientific side, disadvantages of the nap also abound.
According to Mock, there is the possibility your crush can walk by and, "See you're nothing more than a big drool baby."
Krueger said, "I had a friend who took an accidental nap on the subway home from work. That was a bad and dangerous nap."
To relieve himself of the burdens of dangerous napping, Krueger said he limits his naps to "places where people can't rob me."
Appropriate for the college world, Estremera said napping too close to a class is a downside.
"You'll doze off and maybe miss class," he said.
Grace-Bishop and Cleary both said nap lengths should be limited to about a half hour. Cleary said 45 minutes is the maximum anyone should nap.
"You also need to be careful that napping doesn't change your biological clock for sleep, which is why limiting the length of time of a nap is important," said Grace-Bishop.
Grace-Bishop said it's a bad idea for students to think that they can make up for lost sleeping time during the weekends by oversleeping or by taking long naps, as this proves to further disrupt your biological clock instead of fixing it.
"When we are talking about naps it shouldn't be the primary way of self care," said Grace-Bishop, "just an additional one."
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!