If there’s anything better than a midday doze on a late summer afternoon, I sure can’t think of it right now.
Can’t you just picture it? The windows are open. Just a hint of sunlight is streaming in along with a gentle breeze as you drift off.
Then, half an hour or so later, you’re back up… refreshed, recharged, and ready for an evening of fun (or least dinner and some TV).
Well, friend, if you love naps, I’ve got a rude awakening for you today.
Not EVERY nap is good.
In fact, some naps could be a sign of a dangerous, debilitating, and ultimately, DEADLY disease.
And today, I’m going to help you sort through which is which so you can rest peacefully without resting in peace.
When a nap is actually an Alzheimer’s red flag
Now, before I go any further if you are a napper don’t hit the panic button just yet.
Overall, an afternoon siesta IS healthy. It can even CUT your risk of chronic disease and early death – and nothing in the new study changes that.
But here’s the thing… there are two kinds of naps. There are naps you WANT… and there are naps you NEED.
The nap you want is a pleasant snooze to recharge the batteries and get you through the evening. A midday snooze you need is one when you’re plum worn out and just have to shut down for a while.
And that second kind of nap is where this new study comes into the picture. It finds the tau protein that often causes the damage that leads to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, hits one region of the brain especially hard, early on.
Surprisingly it’s NOT the part of the brain where you keep memory. That damage comes later.
First, it hits the region that helps keep you awake and alert during the day. And that leads to the NEED for a nap long before there’s any sign of memory loss or other cognitive problems.
Separating a symptom from a cause
Of course, the media is getting this all wrong.
They’re BLAMING the nap!
One major news agency even said the study shows naps are a “risk factor” for Alzheimer’s disease.
But that’s a little like calling umbrellas a “risk factor” for rain… because naps aren’t the cause of this brain damage. They’re a SYMPTOM.
Here’s the scary part. If you’re a napper… a need-to-napper, not a want-to-napper… that COULD mean you already have the damage sinking in right now.
But let me take the fear factor out of the equation here. Because it also means something else. You have a PRIME opportunity to act.
You’ve just been given a priceless early warning sign. Because knowing the risk now is a whole lot better than knowing it later, when it’s too late to do anything about it.
So here’s the plan…
Ditch the processed foods that can starve your brain and sap you of energy. Boost your intake of B vitamins, especially B12, which can protect the brain, fight fatigue, and give you a little extra zing.
And if you’re STILL worn out by midday, get yourself checked out by a naturopathic medical doctor. He can get to the bottom of it and help put the brakes on whatever’s going wrong before it turns into anything worse.
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