Power Naps May Reverse a Poor Night's Sleep

Want to feel better? A power nap may be exactly what you need. Scientists have taken a closer look at short naps and have found that they can relieve stress and bolster immune systems.

Lack of sleep is a public health problem. In fact, nearly three in 10 adults report that they slept only an average of six hours or less a night in the National Health Interview Survey. A lack of sleep can contribute to reduced productivity as well as vehicle and industrial accidents. In addition, those who sleep too little are more likely to develop chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression.

Now, though, researchers have found that there may be a way to counteract this lack of sleep. Scientists used a cross-over, randomized study design to examine the relationship between hormones and sleep in a group of 11 healthy men. These men underwent two sessions of sleep testing where meals and lighting were strictly controlled.

During the first session, the men were limited to two hours of sleep for one night. During the second session, the men took two, 30-minute naps the day after their sleep was restricted. Each of these sessions began with a night where the volunteers spent eight hours in bed and concluded with a recovery of unlimited sleep.

So what did they find? After a nap of limited sleep, the men had a 2.5-fold increase in the levels of norepinephrine, a hormone involved in the body's fight-or-flight response to stress. However, they found no change in norepinephrine levels when the men had napped following a limited sleep.

"Our data suggests a 30-minute nap can reverse the hormonal impact of poor sleep," said Brice Faraut, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This is the first study that found napping could restore biomarkers of neuroendocrine and immune health to normal levels."

The findings reveal that napping could counter the damaging effects of sleep restriction. This could be a practical way to help those who suffer from a lack of sleep on a regular basis.

The findings are published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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