In our constantly chaotic lives, we all need to rest our eyes. Some may find it at night, some during the day, some during a15 minute nap and others, not at all. It isn’t easy to truly rest these days, with our thoughts constantly chattering away. One might find themselves get increasingly tired during the day and aching to close their eyes for a little bit. This is, in fact, a good idea. It is called a Power Nap.
What Is a Power Nap?
Power Naps are 20-30 minutes short sleep taken during the day to recharge and restore one’s mental and physical capacity. For a long time, those who napped were considered lazy, unprofessional and slobs. However, in recent years, much research and evidence have shown the positive implications sleep has in a person’s life. It has also shown us an alarming increase in the number of people suffering from sleep deprivation.
Why Are Power Naps Important?
A full 8 hours of sleep is sometimes considered a luxury. With an increasing number of people sleeping less and exerting more, power naps can restore their bodies back to normal. Power naps are also important in improving memory development, learning accumulation, logical reasoning and reaction time. Many companies are now setting up napping centers to ensure their employees have everything they need to be productive at work.
What Is the Best Way to Nap?
Power naps don’t come easily to people who aren’t used to sleeping during the day. To help people learn how to nap well, we have created a step-by-step guide into power naps.
Step 1: Timing
You don’t want to confuse your body about it’s sleeping habits. So it is important you don’t sleep too late in the evening or too early during the day. The right time to get your power nap in is post lunch and before 3 PM. Sleep.org says the best time to nap is between 2 PM and 3 PM. This is because, naturally, our body clock is wired to feel sleepy in the afternoon.
Step 2: Alarm
It can get easy to get carried away and end up sleeping 2 or even 3 hours. This can have an adverse effect on your sleep at night. With a maximum of 90 minutes, don’t let your nap stretch on too long. An alarm is the best way to be prepared for this. Longer naps can cause a period of ineffectiveness and grogginess induced by sleep inertia. Therefore, it is important to find the sweet spot in nap lengths.
Step 3: Drink Chamomile Tea
While you are stressed and sleepy, you may end up wide awake while trying to nap. This is because your mind has not relaxed and is thinking of numerous things that need to be done. The best thing to do while you are stressed is to find ways to relax your body. A warm cup of chamomile tea and relaxing music can go a long way to putting you in the right headspace of a nap.
Step 4: Find a comfortable place
You can’t just nap upright on your work chair. To get your mind into a nappy zone, you need to find a place that is just right. A little bit dark, a little bit dingy and the right amounts of cozy. If you can’t find a place like that around you, use ear plugs, eye masks, neck pillow and anything else you might need to create your own cozy.
Step 5: Listen to Podcasts
You don’t want to be looking at what you might consider soothing videos to sleep. Blue light is never a good idea. But soothing audio can really help you fall asleep faster. Podcasts like Sleepy, Sleep With Me, Sleep Whispers and numerous ones on guided meditation are just some aids you can use to fall asleep. It is often something read, or whispered, in a soothing voice guaranteed to make you drowsy in the first few minutes.
Step 6: Shut Off Your Communication
Often, it is the time you decide to relax that the whole world tries to wake you up. To stop that emails and texts chiming in, set an alarm and set your devices to a Do Not Disturb mode till the time you have to wake up. Keep aside scrolling on social media or fussing about your emails and lie down. The world won’t collapse if you take a 20-minute break.
Power Naps are important and in this time and age, necessary. Lack of adequate sleep is a bane in modern times. People are constantly working, studying and even partying at the expense of a function that is of the utmost importance to our optimal health – sleep. Without enough sleep, you not only experience issues with your mental health and mood, but you also begin to see changes in your physical health. Power naps might not be the answer to the fatigue we feel, but it can definitely help.
