How long is the best lunch break?

The human body needs to get enough sleep every day, because only with enough sleep can you be in a good state of study or work. Not only do we need sleep at night, but most people also need a nap after lunch. Because the spirit at noon is very bad, only a good rest at noon will make you more energetic in the afternoon. So how long should the lunch break be ideally?

What is the most appropriate length for a nap?

A healthy nap is most appropriate for 15 to 30 minutes, and should not exceed 1 hour. If the time is too short to achieve the effect of rest, you will still doze off in the afternoon. If the time is too long, you will sleep more deeply, and after waking up you will feel a slight headache and general weakness. It will also be difficult to wake up, which will affect your sleep at night (insomnia).

What is the best time to take a nap?

During noon (11:00-13:00), people's alertness is naturally declining, and taking a nap at this time will help the body get a good rest. Noon is the active period for the human body's liver metabolism to adjust its balance. Proper rest at this time is beneficial to the body's recovery, detoxification, wound healing, and the normal exchange of the body's yin and yang energy. By taking a nap, our body and brain can get sufficient rest, and it also has a beauty-enhancing effect for women. Taking a nap is very good for soothing the nerves, relaxing the body's tense nerves, and reducing the psychological discomfort and mental irritation caused by various life and work pressures. Those who do mental work will realize that their work efficiency will be greatly improved after a lunch break.

In some countries and regions where people have the habit of taking naps at noon, the incidence of coronary heart disease is much lower than in countries where people do not take naps. This is related to the fact that taking naps at noon can relax the cardiovascular system and reduce the tension of the human body. Therefore, it makes sense that some people compare lunch break to the best way to "recharge your health."

Notes on naps:

(1) Do not go to sleep right after lunch. Instead, do some light exercise or walk around. Because the stomach has just been filled with food, a large amount of blood flows to the stomach, blood pressure drops, and the brain's oxygen and nutrition supply decreases significantly. Falling asleep immediately will cause insufficient blood supply to the brain. Therefore, it is best to exercise for 20 minutes before taking a nap to facilitate food digestion. Don't eat too greasy food or overeat before going to bed. Because greasy food will increase the viscosity of the blood and aggravate coronary artery disease; overeating will increase the burden on stomach digestion.

(2) Nap time should be controlled within 15-30 minutes, otherwise you will feel very uncomfortable when you wake up. If you sleep too much, you will feel dizzy and bloated when you get up, which will disrupt your biological clock and affect your sleep pattern at night.

(3) If possible, choose a nap bed instead of sleeping on a table, and make sure to keep warm. The posture of sleeping on the table not only affects the nerves in the arms, but also makes the nerves in the face susceptible to compression and damage. If you do not pay attention, it may develop into local nerve paralysis or cause facial deformation over time. Sleeping on your stomach may press on your eyeballs and affect your vision.

(4) Do not take naps in corridors, ventilated areas or places facing air conditioners. The body's temperature regulation center functions poorly during sleep, causing mild symptoms such as physical discomfort after waking up, and severe symptoms such as catching a cold and becoming ill.

(5) After waking up, you must get up slowly before starting to move. After waking up, it takes a process for the human body to switch from an inhibited state to an excited state. If you get up immediately, the body has not adapted, the blood flow is slower, and oxygen cannot be delivered to the brain in time, which can easily cause dizziness, blurred vision and other discomforts. Middle-aged and elderly people are also prone to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents.

Elderly people taking a nap:

There are many things that the elderly need to pay attention to when taking a nap. Elderly people who have the habit of taking naps can continue to do so. As long as the nap time is controlled within half an hour, it will not affect their health. For the elderly who are obese or suffer from cardiovascular diseases, although naps reduce energy consumption, as long as they pay attention to proper exercise and control a reasonable diet, naps basically will not cause fat accumulation in the body, nor will they cause a great burden on the cardiovascular system. A short period of lying down can not only relax your spine, but also clear your mind.

Elderly people who have sleep disorders at night should try to reduce their daytime sleep time. In order to reduce the chance of blood flowing into the stomach after a meal and reducing the oxygen supply to the brain, the elderly can take a walk after a meal and rest for half an hour before taking a nap.

It is best for the elderly to lie flat when taking a nap. If you sleep on your stomach, the blood supply to the head will be reduced, and you are likely to experience symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, and numbness in the arms after waking up.

Tips: Make sure to control the nap time to 15-30 minutes. Don’t go to bed immediately after a meal, and don’t get up immediately after waking up.