Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales
“Done well, there’s something special about a nap. A short sleep during daylight hours is a moment of quiet in a world of noise… for a while, you can switch off.”
Ceci Browning, The Quiet Art of Napping
I am going to let you into a secret: whenever I can, I take an afternoon nap. I have even programmed space for it within my teaching schedule.
It’s not simply that I am getting old, convalescing from an illness, or even because I am lazy, but because I find it makes a significant difference to my overall wellbeing, mood, and productivity.
Pillow Power
An impressive list of famous people have incorporated afternoon naps into their daily routines, including Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Salvador Dali, and Thomas Edison. These notables all found taking an afternoon nap beneficial for their physical and mental well-being, and increasingly the science suggests they had a point.
In his superb book Live Well Live Long, Peter Deadman cites a 2007 study into over 20,000 Greeks, which found a 37% reduction in deaths from heart disease among those who regularly took a siesta.
And the science goes much further. Here are some of the established advantages, and suggested benefits, of incorporating an afternoon nap into your routine. Napping:
- effectively combats drowsiness and fatigue, enhancing alertness and boosting mental performance and focus for the rest of the day.
- can provide physical rest, rejuvenation, and energy restoration, reduce muscle fatigue, and promote muscle recovery.
- can also support the immune system and overall health by allowing the body to repair and regenerate.
- helps lower cortisol levels, reduce stress, and promote calm and rejuvenation.
- improves cognitive function, concentration, and mental performance by helping the brain process and consolidate information, leading to enhanced productivity and problem-solving.
- helps the brain to organise and retain information more effectively, leading to improved learning outcomes.
- can play a crucial role in memory consolidation, the process of strengthening and integrating new information into long-term memory.
- can improve mood regulation, reducing irritability, enhancing emotional stability, and promoting a more positive outlook. A well-rested mind is better equipped to handle challenges and cope with emotional stressors.
- boosts creativity by giving the brain a mental reset, leading to innovative thinking and “Eureka!” moments.
Napping isn’t for everyone, even where time and space permits it. Those who experience insomnia or sleep disorders should of course seek advice from a health professional before including naps in their routine.
The duration and timing of the nap can influence its benefits. A short nap of around half an hour is generally recommended to avoid entering deep sleep stages and experiencing grogginess upon waking.
And napping too close to bedtime can disrupt nighttime sleep patterns, so it’s advisable to keep afternoon naps relatively early and short. The optimum time of day is thought to be between around 1.00-3.00pm.
For those wanting to build power napping into their health regime, find a cool spot with good ventilation, leave your phone on silent, and embrace your time out. Personally, I never regret it…
And on that note, I’m off to have a nap…
But let me leave you with this nugget:
“Is not sleep the infallible miracle drug, not just a cure for one illness but for a hundred, a cure that saves a thousand lives!”
Li Liweng (1611-1679, cited by Peter Deadman, ibid.)
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