Nature had not intended mankind to work from 8 in the morning until
midnight without the refreshment of blessed oblivion, which, even if it only
lasts 20 minutes, is sufficient to renew all the vital forces.
--Winston Churchill
There is a growing interest online and elsewhere in napping: the benefits of doing it, how to do it optimally, and when to take one. There is a growing body of research that shows that napping can boost your mental and emotional responses to everyday stimuli, while lowering your risk of heart disease. Not to mention that sleep deprivation is one of the more significant causes of vehicle collisions.
Other Famous nappers
 |
| Thomas Edison was renowned for his power naps. |
Here's artist Salvador Dali without the key trick: a method he used for a one-second nap that supposedly amped his creativity. Edison was fond of this method too.
 |
| Leonardo da Vinci apparently slept almost exclusively in power naps: 15 minute naps every four hours. Try to negotiate that kind of an arrangement with your employer. |
 |
| Albert Einstein was also a power napper, and practitioner, along with Dali, of the Key Method |
In spite of these, and other high-achieving nappers, there remains a stigma that napping is for lazy people and slackers. Would you call into question any of these men’s achievements?
Why napping will make you feel awesome:
·
Increases
alertness: A NASA study found that a 40-minute nap increases alertness by
100%. The insight is that if you
break up your day with a nap, you will be as alert and energetic for the second
part of your day as you were for the first.
·
Improves
learning and working memory: Your working memory is that used when engaging
in complex tasks in which you are focused on one thing while holding other
things in your memory. Napping also improves your memory retention.
·
Heightens
your senses and creativity: According to nap scientist Sara C. Mednick,
napping can greatly enhance your sensory perception as effectively as a night
of sleep. It also enhances your creativity by setting you back from your task,
and allowing thoughts to congeal and make necessary connections.
Whether you’re planning to nap in your office or at home,
here are some tips that can help get you on your way:
1.
Nap after
lunch: This is the best time, given that there’s a natural dip in stamina
that takes place as the body is digesting.
2.
Find a
good place to nap: About 30% of employers allow employees to nap at work.
If you’re one of the lucky ones, and there’s a napping place at work, use it.
If you have a private office, that’s a no-brainer. If you have none of these,
and it’s not thirty-below outside, you can power-nap in your car. Put your
phone on ‘do not disturb’, set a timer for 20 minutes, and enjoy.
3.
Select
the kind of nap you need: Different amounts of time yield different
results. A 10-20 minute power-nap is ideal for a boost in alertness and energy.
60-minutes is best for improvement in remembering facts, faces, and names.
90-minutes involves a full cycle of sleep, which aids in creativity and
emotional and procedural memory, such as riding a bike. This length of sleep
time will minimize sleep inertia.
4.
Make sure
you still get a good night’s sleep: While naps can restore focus and
concentration during a work day, you need a full night’s sleep to stay healthy
and functional during the day.
5.
Caffeine?:
Some maintain that you should limit your caffeine to the morning to maximize
your nap, while other maintain you should have your afternoon coffee just prior
to your nap. Taking it before will allow time for the caffeine to absorb,
helping you feel less groggy upon waking up.
Go on...give napping a try
If you are already a napper, then more power to you. If you
are an employer, consider integrating this option into your work-day for those
who would want to take advantage of it, noting to your employees the benefits
for productivity and overall health. If you are not a napper, but are now
convinced that you should become one, then give it a try, and reap the
benefits.
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