A brief nap is beneficial for physical health. Taking a 30-minute nap every day can reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease by 30%. Napping can lower the risk of coronary heart disease. If conditions allow, lying down for a while is the best choice. However, if there is no opportunity to lie down, many people may choose to nap on the desk without realizing that napping on the desk can be harmful instead of beneficial.
Although napping has many benefits for the body, there are also some taboos that should be avoided. It is commonly believed that everyone should take a nap, but in reality, not everyone needs it. As long as the body is in good condition and there is sufficient sleep at night, not taking a nap generally does not affect physical health. However, it is necessary for those engaged in mental work, students of all ages, the weak and sick, and the elderly to take a nap.
After lunch, one should not immediately take a nap because the stomach is still full of undigested food. Taking a nap right after lunch will give a feeling of bloating. The correct approach is to engage in light activities, such as walking or massaging the abdomen, after lunch and then take a nap. This helps with digestion and absorption of food.
The ideal duration for a nap is between half an hour and one hour. Sleeping too much can lead to discomfort upon waking up due to entering deep sleep. If this happens, one can get up and do some activities or wash the face with cold water, and the discomfort will quickly disappear.
It is also necessary to choose the right place for napping. Napping should not be done randomly under a tree, on the grass, in the corridor, or on the cement floor. It is also not advisable to nap in the hallway or near a draft, as the body's temperature regulation during sleep is reduced, which can cause a cold sensation in the stomach for some people or discomfort upon waking up for others.
Many people have the habit of sitting or lying on the edge of the desk for a nap due to limited conditions. This is extremely detrimental to bodily health. Napping on the edge of the desk compresses the chest and affects breathing, causing numbness in the hands and failing to achieve the purpose of adjusting and resting the body.
Napping on the desk affects blood circulation in the body. Once the body enters a state of sleep, the heart rate gradually slows down, and the speed of blood flow through various tissues also slows down relatively. The amount of blood flowing into the brain is also less than usual due to more blood flowing into the intestines and stomach to aid digestion after lunch. If one naps on the desk, the cerebral ischemia becomes more severe, leading to temporary "brain anemia" with symptoms such as dizziness, tinnitus, leg weakness, and fatigue upon waking up.
Napping on the desk can easily compress the eyeballs, causing bloodshot eyes and increasing eye blood pressure. It can even cause corneal deformation and changes in eye curvature. This is especially harmful to people with severe myopia and can seriously damage eyesight.
When napping on the desk, the upper body needs to rest on the edge of the desk, increasing the curvature of the body, compressing the feet, and increasing the burden on the chest, which affects breathing and makes it difficult to breathe. When napping on the desk, one often feels that breathing is difficult and unable to inhale. This is actually due to the inability of the chest to expand. Doing this regularly can lead to increased cardiac burden and induce heart disease. The posture of compressing the chest in women can also induce breast diseases.
When napping on the desk, people often rest their arms or hands under their heads. These people often experience shoulder pain and numbness in the arms, which is closely related to napping with their arms as pillows. Napping on the desk naturally involves using the arms as pillows, and the head often compresses the arms, affecting blood circulation and nerve conduction in the arms, causing numbness and soreness in the arms and shoulders, and sometimes even leading to chronic nerve damage. Even with treatment, it is not easy to recover, and there may be lifelong sequelae.
In fact, besides lying on the bed, one can also lie on a chair with the head "rested" on the backrest, which is even better.
