The Power of Power Naps
When we were toddlers in kindergarten, they would force us to take naps during nap time. Somehow, getting older meant ditching mid-day naps, and most of us feel guilty when we nap during the day, feeling like we wasted time.
People are becoming more aware of how important sleep is for our well-being. Still, power naps aren't yet as popular as they should be. It doesn't matter if you're a toddler or a high-achieving CEO; a power nap will boost your energy and make you more productive.
Without quality sleep, we wouldn't be able to learn anything. Our immune system would go crazy, and our hormones put us at an increased risk of various health conditions. While a power nap won't completely reverse the dangers of inadequate sleep, it will help decrease some lousy night's sleep damage.
How Much Sleep Do I Need?
Even though everyone is different, research has confirmed that most people need around 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Sleeping for less than 6 hours increases our risk of injury and health problems. Keep in mind that you might be able to function perfectly normal by sleeping less than the prescribed number of hours.
One bad night of sleep probably won't ruin your life, but you can expect specific effects when a lack of quality sleep turns chronic. These include decreased reaction time, short-term memory, performance, patience, judgment, information processing, increased stress, and more.
How Can Power Naps Help?
A quick power nap can increase your performance even if you aren't chronically fatigued and sleep-deprived.
The short-term effects include a mood boost, a boost in focus, memory, and alertness.
And if that wasn't enough to convince you, studies have shown that long-term effects include improved long-term memory, a decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and increased creativity.
It also seems that napping can boost your immune system and reduce chronic stress, leading to better overall health.
Napping can be great for people whose work requires hours of uninterrupted focus.
The Ideal Napping Protocol
The length of a perfect power nap is debated amongst scientists. Some say that anything up to 90 minutes is good, while others claim that napping for longer than 30 minutes may lead to cardiovascular disease in the long run. You can limit your naps to the half-hour mark to play it safe.
Another vital thing to take into consideration is something called sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is the transitional phase between sleeping and being wide awake. It's the moment when you're still sleepy from sleeping and might blurt out something you don't mean. Longer naps can cause more prolonged sleep inertia, meaning you'll feel groggy for a longer time.
It's not advised to take naps too close to your bedtime, as it can mess up your sleep schedule and make it hard to fall asleep that day. The best time for napping is generally from 12 pm to 4 pm, when we will naturally start to feel tired.
To fall asleep faster, you can try to set up your sleeping space to optimise sleep. For example, it should reduce the noise, darken the room, and comfy the bed. If you can't control the noise in your environment, you can give earplugs a go or even play some white noise in the background.
Non-Sleep Deep Rest
A term coined by Dr Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist, and professor at Stanford University, non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) techniques aim to relax, reduce stress, improve learning, and even help fall asleep faster.
The most popular NSDR protocol is called Yoga Nidra. That means Yoga Sleep and guided meditation led by an instructor. During guided meditation, the instructor sequentially shifts your focus onto different body parts, entering a calm state.
Self-hypnosis is also a valuable NSDR technique, which can do with an app called Reverie. It's worth a shot proven to relieve stress and anxiety, manage pain, and improve sleep.
Sleep vs Power Naps
While power naps are excellent and provide many health benefits, they shouldn't be used as a crutch. Replacing good old, quality deep sleep is not possible. Instead, napping is a tool that allows us to optimise our productivity and maybe help mitigate some effects of a poor night's sleep.