Wednesday Brief

Yesterday India became the 17^th country in the world where more than 20,000 infected Corona patients have been detected.  The 25% of these infected persons have been detected in Maharashtra state only, the state has now figure of more than 5000 cases. Over a lakh people in the state are now under home or institutional quarantine. Now if you consider the total world-there are approx 25.31 lakhs infected people all over the world, about 6.6 lakhs people have recovered but  about 1.74 lakhs people have died also. USA is the worst affected country with 8.04 lakhs infected people with 43,200 deaths, Italy- 1.83 lakhs(infected) and 24,648 (deaths), Spain-2.04 lakhs (infected) and 21,282 deaths, France-1.56 lakhs (infected) and 20,294 (deaths).These are the 4 countries who have more than 20,000 deaths due to Corona Virus, as compared to them the position of India is still better with only 20,000+ infected people.

Now coming to my health topic of the day :

Most of us have a set routine which is controlled by work schedule. With big cities  becoming more demanding in work schedules, and people on average are spending 9 to 10 hours in the  work place (office) and may be another 2 to 3 hours for commuting. With the introduction of cell phones, it also means people spent a lot of tome looking into the cell phones, which in the end affects the sleep. As a set rule a person needs minimum 7 to 8 hours of sleep every day. However the issue arises when a person does not get quality sleep. This can lead to many health issues as well as productivity issues. Another side effect of lack of quality sleep at night can be that person start feeling sleepy during post lunch session, whether at the office or at home. Should a person actually allows oneself that afternoon NAP(Siesta) or withhold the temptation.

Why a Siesta :

It is said that there are many benefits of nap taken during the day. The point is to ensure the nap is kept to a short nap and does not become along sleep. Many successful people call these short naps as power naps, and these people swear by it. What it means actually that a short nap can recharge and refresh you, and can make you more productive also, for the rest of the day. It reduces tiredness, makes you more alert, and also put you in better frame of mind. It also reduces blood pressure and calms you down.

There are many countries that actually allow their workforce to take the afternoon nap called a siesta. The word siesta actually originated in Latin and indicates the sixth hour, which is actually the noon time when people take a nap. The hot climate in some regions also meant that working during noontime would have been tough. Also people work better, once they have had their siesta.

The duration of the nap :

Most people who are in the office during the afternoon times are used to actually picking up a cup of tea/coffee to counter the sleep. This is because caffeine helps in keeping the sleep at bay. However best part of taking a short nap is that it can have the same or even better effect than  a cup of tea/coffee, but without the negative effects of caffeine, and this has been proved through various studies conducted on this topic.

Usually power naps for 15/20 minutes can help a  lot in maintaining your vigour through  the day. Also, if you take an hour long nap or more of sleep during the day, it may affect your sleep during the night.

It is obviously useful and beneficial and famous people like Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Albert Einstein, Bill Clinton, Eleanor Roosevelt etc were known to take their afternoon naps. The key is to learn to fall asleep for that short duration, instruct people not to disturb you, and ensure that you really take a good nap. Then only you can get the real benefit out of the nap, and make the rest of the day better for you. If you, oversleep, then you are in trouble, and that danger exists, especially if you are at home. It is better to set an alarm for 15/20 minutes and wake up and get going on with your activities of the day.

After I have stopped working , leading a retired life now, I have also become used to taking a afternoon nap for 15 -20 minutes. After the nap, I really fresh for rest of the day.

Waiting for your views/comments/feed backs.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

22^nd Apr 2020.