The team, from the University of California, Irvine and Princeton University in the US, studied 50 people as they lay down for a 1pm nap. Half followed a ten-minute recording of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). The other half listened to ten minutes of Mozart music. Researchers found the two groups showed different sleeping brain rhythm patterns. Lead author [and UCI postdoctoral researcher of cognitive sciences] Katharine Simon said: ‘We found that those who engaged in PMR prior to sleep showed greater right-sided sleeping brain rhythm activity from the start – which we expect to see in more well-rested individuals.’

For the full story, please visit https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-10727309/Tensing-muscles-key-good-afternoon-nap-helping-drift-deeper-sleep.html.