Neuroscience reveals that midday napping improves memory, enhances alertness, boosts wakefulness and performance, and recovers certain qualities of lost night sleep.
Interestingly, Islam, the religion of the Muslims, advocates midday napping (Qaylulah) primarily because it was a practice preferred by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The research, published in the journal General Psychiatry, looked at the sleep patterns of 2,214 healthy people aged 60 and over in several large Chinese cities.
- Each participant was also given a standardised screening test for dementia
- Nappers got better scores in locational awareness, memory and verbal fluency
- However, the team cautioned that the study has not established causation
Dr Sara Imarisio, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “While other studies have also indicated a link between changes in sleep quality, a larger study looking at a number of sleep-related factors, not just napping, is needed to paint a clearer picture about the link between dementia and sleep throughout the day.”
Napping as a practice
Napping is a cross-cultural practice, and modern sleep scientists believe that napping provides benefits for all ages.
A short mid-day nap (called Qaylulah in Islamic culture) is a deeply embedded practice in the Muslim culture, and it takes a religious dimension (Sunnah) for some Muslims.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “Take a short nap, for Devils do not take naps” [Sahih Aljamie. Al Albani 1647].
Another Hadith by Muhammad (PBUH) provided details about the timing of the nap, “Sleeping early in the day betrays ignorance, in the middle of the day is right, and at the end of the day is stupid.” (Fath Al-Bari, p.73).
A third Hadith reported in Sahih Al-Bukhari (SB) says, “We used to offer the Jumua (Friday) prayer with the Prophet and then take the afternoon nap” [SB 5923].
Friday is the weekend for Muslims, so napping on Friday may compensate for sleep debt that has accumulated during weekdays.
Nafi’ reported: Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would come to a tree between Mecca and Medina, and he would take a nap under it. He told people that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had done so.
Source: Musnad al-Bazzār 1519
Napping in the Modern day
Previous research has shown that short daytime naps improve vigilance and cognitive functions, and are beneficial for memory consolidation.
In particular, a nap as short as 10 min can improve alertness and performance for 2.5-4 hours.
A recent study assessed the health effects of napping in 23,681 healthy Greek adults for an average of about six years. After controlling for potential confounders, the researchers concluded that those who napped at least three times weekly for about half an hour had 37% lower coronary mortality than those who did not nap.
A Chinese company has implemented having a mid-day half hour sleep for its employees, feeling it is necessary, because it leads to increasing their productivity. This is as a result of the day being divided into two productive halves.
Recently Nap lounges have been set up in the corporate hub of Hong Kong for 15 min to an hour-long duration.
Recent studies conducted in University Burkley, Harvard and the University of Athens states that a midday nap boosts brainpower.
In Conclusion
It also benefits mental health and decreases the risk of heart disease, and helps in increasing intelligence.
Sources / Further reading
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51697113_Sleep_from_an_Islamic_perspective
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183634/
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