Growing up, I used to think that naps were only for babies and toddlers but once you made it 1sst grade, naps were a thing of the past. You’re expected to get enough sleep at night for you to make it through the day without a nap.

Through most of my adult life, I believed naps were not only for babies and toddlers but also for seniors because they just don’t have the energy or stamina to make it through a day without taking a little snooze.

The closer I got to my senior years, the more I realized that naps had their place for all ages but in today’s busy and hectic world where most men and women have to work all day for a living, naps can get you fired. Although some companies, especially tech companies are realizing the benefit of short (10-20-minute naps) during the day and have made provisions for staff to take advantage of that, as long as they don’t abuse it.

My brother-in-law, now retired was a CPA who owned his own business. When not at work, he regularly took what he referred to as a 10-minute power nap in the afternoon. He said he always woke up refreshed, clear headed and ready to go. I’ve tried that but since I have sleeping disorders, a 10-minute nap usually leaves me feeling more tired and groggy than if I hadn’t napped at all.

For the most part, many experts support the benefits of short naps, which they say usually leads to healthy and more productive employees.

For us seniors, naps can easily become a part of daily routine and there is nothing wrong with that, at least for the most part. Naps help refresh us, gives us a little more pep, kind of like recharging our batteries.

But, did you know that there may be a negative side to our naps?

Before I explain, let me ask you if you ever have issues with your memory and trying to determine if a specific memory was from a real event or just something you may have imagined?

If you answered yes, then let me ask you if take naps on a regular basis?

According to a recent report, your naps may be partially to blame for your funny memory issues.

“Our memory is imperfect: We remember some moments but lose others like a problematic tape recorder. Sometimes, we even ‘remember’ things that never happened — a phenomenon that researchers call ‘false memory’ (and a reason why eyewitness testimonies can be misleading).”

“But where do these false memories come from? Previous studies have suggested that sleep plays a role in the formation of false memories, and in a recent small study, researchers homed in on one particular aspect of sleep, called sleep spindles, as the potential culprit.”

“Sleep spindles are quick bursts of brain activity during sleep, according to the study, which was published in December in the journal Neuropsychologia. They occur in one of the lighter stages of sleep, called Stage 2, which is defined by a slowed heart rate and no eye movement.”

The last thing many of us seniors need to hear is that naps can give us false memories, especially if we are already starting to deal with memory issues. Guess each one of us have measure the value of a ‘recharging’ nap versus the issue of false memories.

At least I think that’s the way I remember it.