Is slowing down the answer to our tiredness crisis?
But it turns out, we’re all guilty of neglecting our ‘ultradian rhythm’, and that could be the reason we’re so knackered. “Known as your Basic Rest Activity Cycle, it occurs several times a day, roughly every 90 to 120 minutes,” says Dr Ramlakhan.She explains that these cycles involve up to two hours of focused attention followed by a desire to ‘switch off’: “you may start to feel woolly in your head, and this period of reduced focus lasts roughly 20 minutes.
“The rest break in this rhythm is nature’s way of allowing you to build up internal supplies of available energy,” explains Dr Ramlakhan. Fighting through these natural ebbs in our attention is worrying, she says, as it puts the body under more stress and makes us more tired. That’s even true of naps. While they traditionally get a bad rap for ruining our sleep cycle, Dr Ramlakhan says certain styles of daytime snoozing can actually be the ultimate form of rest. “Power napping has to be done correctly. The ideal is 10-20 minutes of near-sleep, a state of relaxation which should be practised at some point between two and four in the afternoon, but no later. You can do this sitting in a chair or even lying on the floor with legs over a bolster or chair.
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