Napping used to be the one thing I despised the most as a kid. I would think it wasted my day and I would no longer have any time to do anything.

However, through the years, my perspective has changed. Naps are no longer a ‘waste’ of time. They’re more like a boost of energy and give you a time to cool down from a long day at school or work.

Naps can even improve your health and can make you smarter, believe it or not.

A group of German neuropsychologists found that after learning something new and then taking a nap can cause you to remember that information almost five times better than when you would typically not take a nap. You could use this fun fact when your mom yells at you for napping too much in class after reading an email from your teacher regarding your naps. Boom, you just saved your grade with what you do best; napping!

Napping is also one form of stress management. Stress causes your blood pressure to go through the roof, but when taking a nap your blood pressure goes down. Napping can basically save your life from potential heart disease or stroke that can be caused by high blood pressure. Your welcome, mom. I saved you from a big hospital bill.

These short gifts can even make you happier. A study by the Edinburgh International Science Festival found that out of 1,000 people, 66% of short nappers reported feeling happier afterward.

I love naps because you always feel better and happier after them, even when it’s just a small 20-minute nap. What’s not to love?

I usually get home from school and just mentally crash, forcing me to take a nap to reboot my brain. I normally nap from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

One thing I highly recommend is to never, ever and I mean ever wake up a person from their nap. It’s like waking up a hibernating bear, a month an a half before winter ends It’s dangerous and just plain scary.

For a person like me, who takes almost an hour to fall asleep, taking naps helps regain those few hours of just tossing and turning. I’ve always found it kind of annoying and funny that, I’m out like a lamp in about five minutes flat but getting to sleep at night takes me a good 45 minutes on a good day.

All in all, naps keep my life from running into the ground with exhaustion. Everyone can benefit from a good nap. It can literally save your life.

So take my advice and take a good nap that satisfies your sleeping health needs.