The Power of Power Napping
You feel tired, unmotivated and just need to recharge? You don’t need to lean on coffee or energy drinks - try a power nap instead. Power napping not only compensates sleep deprivation but also reduces stress and increases productivity. It will boost your creativity, cognitive skills and your energy level.
The expression itself is self-explanatory - it’s a nap that gives you power. It’s a short sleep, usually 20-30 minutes long which should end before the occurrence of deep sleep (slow-wave-sleep SWS) in order to regenerate our brain and is normally practised outside of the nightly main sleeping phase. The term “power nap” was coined by James Maas a social psychologist at Cornell University. It is used to supplement normal sleep and to increase mental performance.
Many studies have shown that power naps of fewer than 30 minutes, reduces stress and restores wakefulness. A study carried out by the University of Düsseldorf found that ultra short episode of sleep promotes declarative memory performance. Other benefits of short naps include:
- stress reduce
- increase in energy level
- enhanced creativity
- improve mood and alertness.
- Increase productivity
It may even benefit the heart, researches found that men who had naps at least three times a week had a 37 percent lower risk of heart-related death.
Power Naps can also reduce mistakes at work and accidents. Most people are aware of the danger that occurs when one drives sleppy. Still, many drivers carry on despite of the risks, putting themselves and others in harm. Getting a full night’s sleep before driving is crucial. However a short nap before driving a long distance can reduce the risk of having a sleepy driving crash drastically. If you should feel drowsy while driving, you should take a rest and take a 20-minute nap.
Is taking a power nap better than drinking a cup of coffee? The author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life, Sara C. Mednick, Phd, says Yes. Because unlike a power nap caffeine can decrease memory performance. Caffeine will also may feel you more wired and are also prone to making more mistakes compared to a power nap.
However there are a few coffee and nap enthusiasts who believe in coffee-naps. A coffee nap combines drinking coffee with a nap, so you drink a cup of coffee first and immediately after taking a nap. It may sound a little bit obscure, because most people realise that caffeine interferes with sleep. But it takes a little time for the caffeine to affect you. Before the caffeine enters your brain it has to go through your small intestine and passing your bloodstream. This takes roughly about 20 minutes. If you spend these 20 minutes unconscious with taking a nap, you will wake up feeling really great. There a even studies that show combining coffee with a nap leads to fewer errors and mistakes while doing a driver simulation.
The ideal time length for a power nap is hard to determine. Every person is different so the time needed for sleep regeneration differs from person to person. However there are various recommended durations for power naps. The power nap should not exceed the 30 minutes mark, the reason is by napping you shouldn't allow your body to enter the deep sleep phase known as SWS (slow-wave-sleep) .
To understand this we need to understand the stages of sleep. Generally there are 4 different stages we are going through while we are asleep.
Stage 1 & 2 are known as light sleep. Stage 3 is called deep sleep and the fourth stage is the so called REM- Phase (Rapid Eye Movement) - this is the stage where we actually dream. In order to feel refreshed we need to wake up in the first two stages.
A Flinders University study compared the benefits of different length naps relative to no nap. The researcher found that even 5-minute naps produced few benefits in comparison with no nap and naps with a length of 10-20 minute produced immediate improvements. That means that even ultra short sleeps of 5-10 minutes can have very beneficial effects on us.
Whether you’re feeling tired and unproductive during the afternoon at the office, working night shifts or fighting drowsiness, a power nap can help you with that, but only if you do it the correct way. In order to help you and to get the most benefits out of your power nap, here a some useful tips that you can use for your next nap.
Tip 1) Finding a nice place to nap
In order to get the most use out of your nap, you should find a nice quiet place where you won’t be disturbed by others. Also try to block out the light, if possible. Turn the lights off or wear a sleep mask if you have one.
Tip 2) Set your alarm
Before you lie down to take a nap you should set your alarm. Set it to your desired napping duration. This will help you to not come over the 30 minutes mark. Also keep in mind how long you need to fall asleep and maybe plan some extra time for the alarm.
Tip 3) Block out your notifications from your mobile phone
Most of you will use the mobile phone as the alarm clock. Make sure to set the phone on no distraction mode or better on airplane mode, so you will not be distracted by notifications.
Tip 4) Keep your eyes closed
Try to keep your eyes closed, especially if you have problems falling asleep. Try to meditate and try not to think about your work - Try to relax instead.
Tip 5) Help I’m not falling asleep!
Don’t worry if you can’t fall asleep. Even if you are not sleeping, you will feel refreshed afterwards. Don’t think about it much and don’t try to force yourself to fall asleep.
Good nap.
Florian Schneller is the person behind @rootcoder. After living a unfulfilled life he decided to turn his life around. He began to take action and to pursue his dreams. He started his daily documentation about his still ongoing #LifechangingJourney here on steemit and posts regularly about things that interests him. Upvote | Resteem | Follow
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