Why You Should Avoid Naps If You Want To Lose Weight

Dr. Alka Sharma, BAMS Sleep, Weight Loss 988 Views

According to Ayurveda, napping during the day may lead to weight gain. Yes, you read that right! Naps or daytime sleep, according to the Ayurvedic texts, can contribute toward weight gain even if you’re on a diet and working out regularly.

Various Ayurvedic texts mention how daytime sleep can be detrimental to health. You may be doing everything right in regards to your weight loss plan but your daytime naps could be the one thing nullifying the effects of your efforts.

The Best Type Of Sleep, According To Ayurveda

Regular sleep during nighttime is called ratri svabhava prabhava nidra. This refers to sleep that occurs during the night time as a natural phenomenon.¹ It is the best, healthiest form of sleep.

Read More: This Is What Happens When You Don’t Sleep

In the classical Ayurvedic text Charaka Samhita, it is stated that a person falls asleep when their mind (manas) and sensory organs (indriyas) become exhausted. They will also fall asleep when their mind withdraws from the objects of the sense organs.²

Charaak Samhita also says that a good night’s sleep provides health, nourishment, strength, fertility, knowledge and longevity. Longevity is included here because lack of sleep can lead to various health problems.³

Napping Contraindications

In the same text, daytime sleep is contraindicated for various reasons. According to the Ayurvedic scholar Charaka, daytime sleep can aggravate Kapha and Pitta dosha. Aggravation of Kapha and Pitta dosha can lead to various problems related to these doshas.⁴

According to the renowned Ayurvedic scholar Charaka, daytime sleep can aggravate Kapha and Pitta dosha

Kapha dosha in its normal state nourishes and lubricates the body and provides stability. Since the Kapha dosha is associated with heaviness, thickness, and slowness, an aggravated Kapha usually causes weight gain.

Charaka also mentions that those who already have an excess of fat in the body, those with a primarily Kapha prakriti, or those suffering from an aggravated Kapha must avoid sleep during the day.⁴

Obesity Is Not Health

Another chapter from Charaka’s book called Ashto nindtiya adhyaya mentions that daytime sleeping can cause weight gain. Astho means eight and nindtiya means that which is unacceptable or disregarded. Adhyaya means chapter.

Read More: 21 Sleep-Inducing Healthy Foods And Beverages For Insomnia

In this chapter, Charaak classified an unhealthy body into eight possible ‘unacceptable’ types.

While we can’t know for sure the reasoning behind this classification system, we do know that both obesity and malnutrition give rise to a variety of health complications.

Today, an attitude of acceptance and inclusion creates a different societal norm for people of all conditions.

The eight unacceptable body types in the ancient texts are the following.⁵

Excessively tall
Extremely short
Excessively hairy
Sparsely haired
With extreme hyperpigmentation
With hypopigmentation
Overweight/Obese
Extremely emaciated or underweight

Sleeping during the day is mentioned as one of the main causes of being overweight or obese in the Charak Samhita.⁶

Medo Dhatu: Fat Tissue

Ayurveda talks about sapta dhatu or seven tissues in the body. These seven tissues are rasa dhatu, rakta dhatu, mamsa dhatu, meda dhatu, asthi dhatu, majja dhatu and shukra dhatu. Meda dhatu can be correlated with fat tissue in the body.

According to Charaka Samhita, in overweight and obese persons, problems occur at meda or fat tissue level. In people struggling with higher body fat levels, other tissues don’t get as nourished as the meda dhatu (fat tissue).

According to Ayurveda, food nourishes rasa dhatu which further nourishes rakta dhatu and so on. So one dhatu or tissue nourishes the next dhatu or tissue.

Increased fat tissue causes obstructions in channels that cease the air or Vata. This ceased air, in turn, increases the digestive fire or jathar agni.

This increased digestive fire causes repetitive urges to eat food. As a result, a person who is overweight or obese ends up feeling hungry most of the time and eats more food repeatedly. This causes increased fat accumulation in the body. This is why naps can hamper weight loss efforts.

Because of the excess fat, other tissues don’t receive the proper nourishment.⁷ All the aforementioned statements from Charaka Samhita support the idea that daytime sleep can cause weight gain.

When Daytime Sleep Is Acceptable

The Charaka Samhita also mentions that during summer you can take a nap during the day. This is because the Vata dosha or air at this time increases in your body along with excessive dryness.

Also, days are longer during the summer so you may nap during the day to get your daily 7-8 hours of sleep.⁸

The following people can take daytime naps.⁹

Singers
Students
Alcoholics
Sexually-active individuals
Those involved in demanding physical activities
Those suffering from indigestion
Weak, elderly, infants, and those suffering from terminal conditions
Those with physical injuries

If someone sleeps regularly during the daytime and has become habituated to it, they can continue their naps since their body has adapted to it.

In these cases, daytime sleep nourishes the body tissues, increases strength and promotes longevity.¹⁰

Various scientific studies have shown that sleep deprivation is linked to instances of weight gain and obesity.¹¹

However, many studies have also demonstrated the benefits of napping for 10-20 minutes during the day. This is usually meant for people who are sleep deprived.

Try to get your continuous 7-8 hours of sleep at night. However if you are not able to get a full night’s sleep, you can take ‘power’ naps during the day.

A qualified Ayurvedic practitioner can assess your body constitution and lifestyle and let you know whether daytime naps will help or hurt your weight loss efforts.

References

Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/3, page no.307, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/35, page no.304, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/3, page no.305, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/44-45, page no.306, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/3, page no.300, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/4, page no.300, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/4-8, page no.300-301, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/43, page no.306, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/39-41, page no.305, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Charak Samhita, Sutra Sathan, 21/42, page no.306, by Aacharya Vidyadhar Shukla and Professor Ravidutt, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 2017.
Beccuti, Guglielmo and Silvana Pannain. “Sleep and obesity” Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care vol. 14,4 (2011): 402-412 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3632337/