Napping is very popular in other parts of the world, specifically in Latin America and Spain where siestas are extremely common. In the United States we tend to go non stop, and if anything sleep less than most experts recommend. Recently released research from UC Berkeley indicates how beneficial a midday nap can be to brain, as it gives it time to rest so that it can be ready to absorb new information when you awake. Some students may think that they can just stay up all night and study, but preventing your body from sleep is actually hindering your ability to retain the information which you are studying. The research comes from UC Berkeley psychology professor Matthew Walker and a team of colleagues who put a group of young adults through a nap experiment. In this nap experiment one group took daily naps at 2pm each day, while the other group did not, then they were tested at 6pm each day to see how well they could perform. Those participants in the nap group who were able to sleep for a longer period duration and get more REM sleep, had the best performance on their tests.
There is so much stimulus going on everyday in the world that the brain is overwhelmed and needs to rest, so you can continue to learn. Students who struggle studying should take a look at their sleeping habits to see if they can change them to help improve performance at their California college. If you can get a little extra sleep at night and find a way to work in a nap on those long days of school, then ultimately you should be more productive and perform better.
