Researchers in France have found men who only sleep two hours nightly can recover much of the harmful effects from lack of sleep by having a short midday nap.
Brice Faraut, PhD, of the Universite Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cite in Paris, France, led the research team. He further observes about the present research, “This is the first study that found napping could restore biomarkers of neuroendocrine and immune health to normal levels.”
The research involved 11 men between the ages of 25 and 32, randomly selected, for a three-day study of sleep and its impact on the body and the effect of naps to restore some of the negative effects that can occur from lack of sleep. Researchers found that lack of sleep can cause damage to the body’s immune and neuroendocrine systems that a 30-minute nap can help restore.
Experts tell us that lack of sleep is particularly troublesome, and even dangerous. WebMD has listed a number of health concerns caused by sleep problems. In researching the cause of accidents, sleepiness was at the heart of many of them. These include the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the nuclear meltdown that occurred at Chernobyl and the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. Furthermore, for the general population a higher rate of accidents occur when people are sleepy.
Other problems caused by lack of sleep include reduction of memory and sex drive. It also elevates factors involved in heart attacks, strokes and other serious health problems, ages the skin, causes people to gain weight, creates lost work productivity and can actually increase the risk of death. In fact many long-term diseases, like diabetes, have been found related to lack of sleep.
Copious research has been done on the negative effects of sleep restrictions, some of which is encapsulated here, on the health risks caused by sleep restrictions.
Sleep is part of a three-pronged, medically-established cluster of need for a healthy life. The amount of sleep each person needs may vary with age; however, a nap can help restore what is lost when an individual does not get what his or her body needs to sustain health. So you can tell your employer, that nap during the day is something that could improve the bottom line and the health of workers as well.
