Being a student is no easy work. Students have to be organized and ready to face the hectic life of a student. Due to that, students’ need a lot of emotional support from people around them especially support from the family, peers and teachers. As time is precious, students have to manage their time properly to ensure that they are not left behind. Majority of the students said that they do not get enough sleep. This is because they have to finish their assignments or study for quizzes, tests or examinations until late at night. One way to fill up the students’ energy is by taking siesta. Taking a siesta is said to be helpful to the students because they can be energized after a siesta. This is especially needed for the Physical and Health students because they have a lot of physical activities in the day that required a lot of their energy. Getting involved in physical activities should not be a reason to skip classes. Taking an afternoon siesta can help the students become energized which will lead to a more quality of life.
A person can gain a lot of benefits from taking an afternoon nap. Just by taking daily afternoon naps, a person’s quality of life can increase. Taking siesta for 20 minutes in the afternoon provides more rest than 20 minutes of oversleeping in the morning. Siesta is closely related to a healthy life because it can increase work productivity and release stress. Napping has lots of benefits both mental and overall health. People seem to think that napping is only for children. However, adults need to take a daily nap as much as children do.
SIESTA
A siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those where the weather is warm.
Students who take siesta are more likely to be at alert at all times as well as be more actively involved in whatever they get involved.
BENEFITS OF SIESTA
A) IMPROVES MEMORY
One of the benefits of siesta is that it improves memory. Cognitive functioning can improve after an afternoon siesta. Taking a nap can increase or improve the memory and mental performance. In addition to that, naps can reduce sleepiness as well as improve cognitive and psychological motor performance. Taking an afternoon siesta has shown to improve the brain activity. Siesta can increase alertness, creativity, mood, and productivity in the remaining hours of the day on top of that, napping is said to improve the memory as well. Napping also enhances the memory and can give greater flexibility in learning.
B) RELIEVES STRESS
Another benefit of siestas is that it can decrease stress which can give a better quality of life to people. Most people will feel sleepy in the afternoon. Taking a siesta is one way to become more alert and to reduce stress. More so, if stress can be relieved by taking a siesta then fatigue can be avoided as well.
C) IMPROVE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
The academic performance of students in undergraduate projects and other departmental activities can be improved by simply inculcating the habit of taking a short nap or siesta. Students must understand when to take a time pout and rest so as to reading lost energy and also feel refreshed. Taking a siesta before reading/studying has shown a great impact on students as they tend to comprehend and retain faster which eventually leads to an improved academic performance.
D) IMPROVES IMMUNITY LEVEL
Siesta also improves immunity level it helps to boost your immunity which helps in fighting diseases and infections. This can only happen when the entire body system is made to rest and this can be achieved by taking siestas. The body is not a machine, so it needs to rest to regain lost energy in the cause of work and also recuperate.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, taking a siesta in the afternoon has a lot of benefits for a better quality of life. Majority of the Physical and Health Education undergraduate students take lots of short nap as it makes them feel fresh and energized. A short afternoon siesta of less than 30 minutes per day improves mood, performances and electroencephalograms (EEG) of both young and elderly people. Taking an afternoon siesta for as short as ten minutes can enhance alertness, mood, and mental performance especially after a night of poor sleep. Therefore, it can be inferred that by taking a daily nap, students can improve their mood and performances including academic performance. The fresh feeling from waking up from siesta will help students increase their alertness in the classroom as well as increase their physical fitness. Siestas are also said to reduce fatigue, enhance performance and improve brain functioning, all of which can lead to a better quality of life.
Therefore, taking a siesta is a significant thing to do because there are a lot of benefits one can gain from taking a siesta for a better quality of life. Undergraduate Students should be taking a nap as their daily routine. The students are aware that by taking a nap, it can help to reduce their stress level and tension towards a situation. This is one way to handle the stress problem that accompanies school activities.