Napping Day has widespread benefits

Students who are still feeling tired from losing an hour of sleep due to daylight savings time Saturday night can grab a few minutes of sleep today in celebration of the sixth-annual National Napping Day.

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences professor William Anthony said he started observing the holiday to get people talking about the benefits of napping, noting that in recent years, the National Napping Day has received an overwhelmingly positive response.

According to Anthony, more college students take naps than any other age group.

"About 70 percent of college students take naps," he said. "The reason for this is because they have the opportunity to nap. Once you leave college you have less of an opportunity."

College of Arts and Sciences freshman Leslie Sall said she naps everyday because she gets little sleep at night and has free time in between classes.

"I usually take naps when I come back from class and I have nothing to do," she said. "I take a nap instead of doing homework during the day."

Anthony said Sargent sends out a press release to notify students of the health benefits to napping, although the college student demographic does not require more sleep than others.

"I think that there are two major benefits," he said. "That it improves mood and performance. By mood, I mean that you are more relaxed. By performance, you are more productive and have more energy to complete the day."

According to Anthony, there is no set amount of time for an effective nap.

"If you nap too long it may be an indicator of a health problem," he said. "Napping is short sleep between several minutes and two hours. Winston Churchill took two-hour naps and he said it helped him get through World War II. The most popular nap is between 15 to 30 minutes."

School of Management junior Rodolfo Bessa said that sometimes he naps just to get through the rest of his day.

"I don't take a nap everyday, but when I do it's around five o'clock and it lasts between an hour and an hour and a half," he said. "Afterward, I wake up and finish my work."

Bessa added that he usually does not wake up refreshed from naps and usually wants to go back to sleep.

Anthony said the best way to make sure a daily nap is effective is to schedule them.

"I would suggest people schedule their nap," he said. "If they're just starting and they're not a napper yet, put it right on their schedule, choose time when they have a nap platform like a lawn or a desk, places where they feel most comfortable and also when they feel the sleepiest."

College of Communication sophomore Liz Camiel said her daily naps happen each day before she goes to dinner.

"I'm usually exhausted from work," she said. "I get enough sleep during the night, but the quality might not be that great. I stay up late at night and during the day, I'm running from classes, which can be really tiring. I don't get to bed until after 11:30."

Anthony said that each year he celebrates National Napping Day at a different location.

"This year we were invited to go to New York City, a nap hotel is opening up for two days where people can come in and take a nap," he said.

Aside from raising napping awareness among students, Anthony also advocates that professionals take short naps during work breaks.

"We try to talk to employers about having a nap policy," he said. "They need a policy that allows employees to take a nap without losing their job or reputation. At break they can go to water cooler, smoke, but right now there is no public napping."

COM freshman Kathleen Walsh said she thinks taking naps on the job is a good idea, but is not practical.

"I think taking a nap on a break is a nice idea, but I can't fall asleep that quickly," she said. "Taking a nap wouldn't make me work any better."