You Snooze, You Lose Win

If you took Spanish in high school yet don’t remember half of what you learned, don’t worry, you’re plight is similar to the overwhelming majority of Americans. But if you’re a fan of sleep – and let’s face it, who out there isn’t? – I bet there’s one word you could translate with ease if prompted.

The word? Siesta.

For those of you who never took Spanish, “siesta” is a short nap, something millions do in the middle of the afternoon each and every day. From Latin American countries as far south as Chile to Asian countries as far east as China, men, women and children alike all take a few moments out of their day to reinvigorate, refresh and revitalize.

Here in the States, naps are few and far between, the “gotta-go, gotta-go, gotta-go-right-now” lifestyle being what it is.

But for a nation and people that spends millions of dollars annually on diet programs, nutritional supplements and exercise equipment, I can’t help but scratch my head in befuddlement as to why more people don’t nap, especially when study after study shows how beneficial it is for the brain.

The latest study on the power of power naps indicates this from a learning perspective. What the researchers from the City University of New York did was take several English-speaking college students and taught them words they’d never seen before. Not English words, mind you, but Chinese words.

Now, words in the Chinese language are represented as characters. Many Chinese words have more than one character, such as sister, maid and mother. These multi-character words were among those shown to the participants

After teaching the 20 college-aged participants a list of various Chinese words, half of the group took a 90-minute nap, but their nap was not one that entered REM – the deepest stage of sleep. The participants made sure of this by monitoring their brain waves as they slept.

Upon awakening, the snoozers took a multiple choice test of Chinese words, but these words were those they’d never seen before. The non-nappers took the same test with the same words and word choice.

What the researchers found was that despite not knowing what each word was, they got more correct because they were better able to determine that certain characters in the Chinese language always mean the same thing (this is similar to the American language, as any word containing the root “phyto” is in reference to plant or plant life, or how “-osis” always refers to a disease or condition). As the study’s lead researcher Dr. William Fishbein said, “The nap group essentially teased out what was going on.”

This finding validates my mom’s criticisms of my study tactics when younger– cramming all night for a test when I was better off sleeping. There are biological processes going on in the brain that revitalize the brain and give it a greater ability to recall the things one needs to.

The need for sleep is essential to maintaining a young brain for as long as possible. Keep that in mind the next time someone derides you for taking a nap in the middle of the day. Taking a nap is not something to feel guilty about or to be castigated over. Whether it’s 30 or 90 minutes, naps will keep you mentally sharper for a lot longer.