Kindergartners need them. College students thrive on them. I just absolutely love them and it appears that research from the University of California, Berkeley shows that a power nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power.
Apparently the more hours we spend awake, the more sluggish our minds become. The findings suggest that taking a nap not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter. “Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap,” said Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the lead investigator of these studies.
The article quoted above and the research findings is an interesting read. Walker and his team are also going to investigate whether the reduction of sleep experienced by people as they get older is related to the documented decrease in our ability to learn as we age. “Finding that link may be helpful in understanding such neurodegenerative conditions as Alzheimer’s disease, Walker said.”
If you don’t have time for a power nap, try meditation; it gives your body a rest and produces slower brain waves similar to sleep. You can always set an alarm if you are one of those people like me where a 30 minute power nap turns into a 2 hour “where the heck did my afternoon go” nap.
I guess the expression, “you snooze, you lose” is not really accurate any more. How about you? Do you have time for naps in the afternoon? Do you feel they really make a difference in your day?
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12 Responses to Power Naps – Count Me In
I like the picture.
I’m conflicted. I wonder if power naps are helpful at a certain age but maybe not another? I feel like there were times in my life when napping made me sluggish and other times when it was necessary. When I suffered from anemia I napped everyday by necessity, but I never felt great afterwards. When I was a sleep-deprived young mother, a nap would have been just a tease for me, making me want more. As a college student, a nap every once in awhile would last two hours long, and not be refreshing. But recently, I have had the experience of being able to nap for 20 minutes and wake up feeling like I had much more energy. Of course, now that it would be useful, I can’t fit napping into my schedule.
I thrive on power naps! My nap-sleep is my best sleep. I don’t have to worry about oversleeping and I am so wiped out when I come home from work, it’s easy to fall asleep.
After cooking dinner, doing dishes, spending time with family, getting them to bed, sometimes I just can’t fall asleep and when I do wake up (at 3:30am), sometimes I only get about 2 hours of sleep. It’s terrible.
So, yes, powernaps are the best!!
Interesting research. I support this thesis!!
I typically only ever get them in on Sunday afternoons. I am never so comfortable in my bed as those first few moments as I am drifting off. Good stuff.
I think for some people they are a necessity – those like Theresa who wake up at dark o’clock or full-time moms of little ones, for example. For me, it is just a nice little luxury that I fully appreciate whenever I get the chance.
I used to be a horrible napper – I would wake up exhausted, disoriented, and often with heartburn. I’ve gotten better at them with age, and now I really enjoy a weekend nap. I’m not sure if they are “power naps” – I’ve never gotten the hang of the 20 minute nap, at all. Typically I would like to take a 1-hour nap, but I find myself usually waking up after something closer to 2 hours. They are still a really nice luxury. I don’t often get enough sleep at night so I really appreciate a little something extra!
I meant to say, I have tried setting an alarm on occasion. The problem is that if I don’t *have* to be up, the alarm is not really a strong enough motivator!
BTW, love the photo!
I ignore the alarm, too, Jennie. I can’t even hear my husband’s which is about two and a half feet from my head. There is one alarm that always works though, puppy kisses!
I used to be a horrible napper – I would wake up exhausted, disoriented, and often with heartburn~Jennie
That’s what a nap usually does to me including the heartburn if I’ve eaten before the nap. It’s not worth it for the time it takes me to feel human again. Even so, there are days that I can’t go w/o one and sleep for about 2 hours. Every now and then I do feel refreshed.
Oh, I forgot. I love that pic, how adorable is that? The blue chucks make it.
I am finding more and more as I get older that I need this power nap. Or like others have indicated, sometimes more than a power nap.
I always feel much better after a nap and have so much more energy. I think it should be mandated in the new Health Care Bill that employers must allow you to take a nap.
It makes sense to give the brain a rest. I’m raising two teenagers and really don’t have the option to do that. But about 3:00pm each day my brain decides to shut down automatically (nap). It only looks like it’s awake because my body is still moving around. I think meditation would work around this time of day for me. To actually lay down and nap would be telling my brain that the day is over and I don’t think I’d wake up till morning.
I definitely need a power nap during the day.
I get little-to-no sleep at night now since going through menopause, so I absolutely need at least twenty minutes at some point during the day.
Three o’clock is definitely one of my “crash” times – unfortunately I’m usually at work and so, no nap for me. I also tend to get tired around 7. Of course, at 11, I’m raring to go. I don’t (usually) have trouble sleeping, but I lack the discipline to make myself go to bed when I should, unless I’m really tired.