Qailulah and Modern Science
The word Qailulah
is used in Islam, it means that it is midday napping or relaxation. Qailulah in
Islam has a special significance because Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) preferred this habit. This habit of
Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) is adopted as Sunnah so that the
blessings of Allah are obtained. The concept of Qailulah is of some specific
features, based on some Quranic verses and Hadiths based on the act of
Muhammad (P.B.U.H.). Therefore, the tradition of Qailulah is
common, and it is different from different cultures around the world. Midday
napping is also different, but it is mainly done for mental fitness and
physical fitness.
Qailulah and
Modern Science:
Modern science supports the
midday napping (Qailulah) for the following reasons:
(1)
Responding
to sleep loss i.e. replacing nap
(2)
Advance preparation
for sleep loss
(3)
Nap for
relaxation
Even for people who
usually get a good night’s sleep, midday nap can still bring considerable
benefits in terms of mood, alertness and cognitive performance. In addition,
midday nap can improve the performance of memory tasks among healthy and
restful subjects.
In general, the
benefits of a map are following:
(1)
Increase alertness
(2)
Improve vigilance
performance
(3)
Reduced sleep
latency
(4)
Improve reaction
time
(5)
Improve driving
task and performance and alertness
(6)
Alert electroencephalogram
(EEG) activities
(7)
Improved memory
A recent theory is
that naps are beneficial for therapeutic healing and medical treatment, such as
reducing stress and blood pressure and stimulate a significant positive recovery
of cardiovascular disease. Due to the circadian cycle of disturbance, Nap can
play a role in controlling sleep deprivation and arrhythmia (heartbeat abnormalities).
Midday nap can
restore negative physical and psychological symptoms due to disturbance during
nighttime sleep. According to a report, 20% to 40% of healthy adults are
non-snorers. There is no clear explanation why they do not practice midday nap,
but the most likely reasons are as follows:
(1)
Not tired
enough
(2)
Not enough
time
(3)
Waking up
from nap is confusing or unpleasant
Other possible
reasons are work ethics or cultural practices that prohibit taking a nap during
work. However, midday naps are not a long-term solution to maintain vigilance
and vigilance due to insufficient night sleep. It is believed that the small
amount of naps staying up late at night naturally indicates that night sleep
will not be deprived. However, due to unpredictable and unavoidable night sleep
losses, such as emergency or work process (such as night shifts), midday nap is
a temporary solution to stabilize and maintain alertness and arousal performance.
The effect of a nap at noon can improve the alertness and performance at noon/afternoon, and can be enhanced by caffeine intake before nap, or by instance light or facial cleansing immediately after nap. The combination of bright light and caffeine intake reduces melatonin secretion (hormone associated with sleep) and improves alertness, body temperature and performance after sleep deprivation of the previous night. Some even suggest that a short period of intense light after a nap helps prevent sleep inertia, improve emotional stability, alertness and performance, and even benefit social interaction and job satisfaction in the workplace. However, there is no consensus on the bright lighting effects, because there is also a report that only when exposed to strong light will the emotional stability and sleepiness worsen.
Nap time and
duration:
Those who often
snoring in the day usually show an increase in sleepiness near the practice time,
and those who only sleep at noon. From two seemingly different perspectives,
the specific time of nap seems to be important. Neuroscience research reports
that midday naps should occur between 2 pm and 4 pm, not after 4 pm; or it
affects the ability of a person to sleep at night. Taking a nap after lunch can
improve alertness and vigilance after normal sleep at night. If there is
insufficient sleep at night before, it will give temporary memory and cognitive
stability.
Short naps of various lengths have been observed with different benefits priorities, for example, 20 minutes, 15 minutes and 10 minutes, and a shorter nap does not necessarily indicates a benefit of a longer nap. Less than 30 minutes of nap has a positive impact on daytime alertness. A short sleep at noon consists of a 2nd stage sleep that lasts 3 minutes, which effectively restores health and strength. However, these recovery effects only occur after the first stage of sleep. Taking a nap for 20 minutes in the afternoon has a positive effect on maintain daytime alertness and is very as a countermeasure for sleepiness after lunch. It is enough to produce a recovery effect, but short enough to avoid sleep inertia because it lacks slow wave sleep (SWS). Therefore, the negative impact on subsequent night sleep is expected to be minor. However, a 10-minute nap is the most effective nap duration that has been examined to date, which has a positive effect due to the onset of delta-wave activity or the fixed accumulation of stage 2 sleep or total sleep.
Basic physiology
of sleep:
Normal sleep in a
typical healthy adult consists of four stages with specific characteristics. It
can be divided into rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM)
sleep. Each sleep will appear several times repeatedly, with clear characteristics:
(a) REM sleep has a
desynchronized electroencephalogram (EEG), muscle paralysis, dreams and vivid
eye movement; (b) NREM sleep contains
various types of EEG, namely K-complex, sleep axis and SWS, associated with low
levels of muscle activity and lack of outstanding eye movement. Sleep begins at
NREM and enters the subsequent NREM phase (stages 2, 3 and 4) and then enters
REM sleep, which occurs about 80 to 100 minutes after the first cycle of NREM. Both
NREM and REM rotate at intervals of approximately 90 minutes.
NREM Phases 3 and 4 occur frequently in the initial NREM cycle, and REM continuous throughout the night. In general, changes in sleep cycles occur with age, such as neonates starting sleep with REM prior to NREM and having about 50 minutes per sleep cycle. About 50% of REM activity is detected in total neonatal sleep and is reduced to ~20% to ~25% in the first 2 years. As for the elderly, the REM sleep pattern is similar to that of children except for sleep dementia.
NREM Phases 3 and 4 occur frequently in the initial NREM cycle, and REM continuous throughout the night. In general, changes in sleep cycles occur with age, such as neonates starting sleep with REM prior to NREM and having about 50 minutes per sleep cycle. About 50% of REM activity is detected in total neonatal sleep and is reduced to ~20% to ~25% in the first 2 years. As for the elderly, the REM sleep pattern is similar to that of children except for sleep dementia.
Great Islamic post.
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