Afternoon Naps Causes weight gain – is it true?
Afternoon Naps are something our parents and grandparents have been doing since a long time back. Everyone might have experienced the childhood moment when our mother forces us to take an afternoon nap even if we didn’t want to. Somehow, afternoon naps made us feel re-energized and productive.
In this era of self-consciousness, a theory is famous among everyone that afternoon naps lead to weight gain. Today if you go out and ask a person for tips to lose weight, it’s most likely that he/she would suggest you to stop taking afternoon naps. In some way or the other, everyone believed this theory and most people accordingly stopped taking afternoon naps.
What if I tell you that the theory you have been believing all these days is nothing but a myth. Anywhere between 10 to 30 minutes of afternoon nap can help in improving your productivity and overall health, says nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar. Accelerated recovery, improved hormonal balance and heart health, and weight loss are a few of the many health benefits that taking an afternoon nap offers.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School found that while at rest, people burn 10% more calories in the late afternoon than in the early morning. Kirsi-Marja Zitting, who led the study, said: “The fact that doing the same thing at one time of day burned so many more calories than doing the same thing at a different time of day surprised us.”
According to the dieticians and nutritionists a sleep of 15-30 minutes post lunch can improve the overall health of an individual.
Afternoon nap should always be preferred between 1 to 3 pm and one must avoid sleeping later than this time. Sleeping in the afternoon benefits the overall health, makes you more productive and is beneficial for weight loss journeys.
But let’s clear the air. After reading this, I don’t want you to jump into bed right after having a meal be it during day or night. Keep a gap of about 1-2 hrs between your meal consumption and your nap.
So don’t go with the myth that afternoon naps lead to weight gain. In fact, according to a research, it is observed that people who suffer from lack of sleep are more prone to gain weight than the ones who get adequate amounts of sleep. Lack of sleep leads to decline in hormones leptin and ghrelin, as a result it makes you feel hungry. But this applies to night sleep. Afternoon naps would help in refueling your body and benefits in mental health.