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The Secrets Of Highly Efficient Napping
When to nap
There's no such thing as a single perfect time to take a nap, but a commonly recommended window. For most people, early afternoon is best.
We are biphasic sleepers: we pack in most of our sleep at night, but most people's brains experience a dip in alertness somewhere between 1 and 4 p.m.
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Basic categories of nap
- The Preparatory Nap: This is the planned nap. The responsible nap.
- The Habitual Nap: You make time for it regularly. It's a habit and it's scheduled.
- The Emergency Nap: taken out of bleary-eyed, foggy-headed necessity. They are a symptom of poor sleep hygiene, and they can strike at any time.
When to nap
There's no such thing as a single perfect time to take a nap, but a commonly recommended window. For most people, early afternoon is best.
We are biphasic sleepers: we pack in most of our sleep at night, but most people's brains experience a dip in alertness somewhere between 1 and 4 p.m.
Sleep inertia
It is the state of impaired cognition, grogginess, and disorientation commonly experienced on awakening from sleep.
This is why most experts suggest avoiding naps between 40 and 60 minutes in length.
The kind of nap you choose
... will depend on several variables:
- How much time you have at your disposal.
- How much time you'll need to recover from sleep inertia after your nap.
- How your nap will affect your ability to fall asleep later that day.
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The best time to nap
The most natural time to take a nap, based on our circadian rhythms, is in the afternoon sometime between 2 and 4pm.
The ideal time to snooze is when a nap would contain a good b...
Timing is everything
The best way to nap also depends on what kind of effects you’re looking for:
- If you’re looking for a restorative nap, you should sleep later in the day when you have an increased amount of slow wave sleep.
- If you’re looking for a nap that might aid your creativity and problem solving, you should sleep earlier in the day when you experience more REM.
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Sleep deprivation
Willpower, memory, judgement, and attention all suffer when you are sleep deprived.
You drop things, crave junk food sugar, overeat, gain weight. You’re more irritable, negative, emotio...
Get through sleep deprivation:
- Stabilize your blood sugar, by eating hearty food (protein and fat) more often.
- Reduce refined carbs and increase fats and proteins.
- B-complex vitamin supplements can give you an immediate boost in alertness and mental clarity.
- Soak in an Epsom salt bath - might even help you get enough energy to exercise the next day.
- Drink more water than you usually do to help compensate.
- Exercise is the single best way to “take out the trash” in your body, and after staying up more hours than you should.
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Eat Meals Earlier
Don't eat any heavy foods within two hours of bed time.
If you get too hungry as bedtime creeps around, there are a few foods that are okay to eat before bed, and can even h...
Do Something After You Eat
After you eat, get up and do something a bit more active—even if it's just washing dishes or taking out the trash. It'll avoid that post-meal drowsiness, and it's a great time to have a 10-minute cleaning burst to keep your house looking nice.
Avoid Napping
Napping can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night:
If, after you've thoroughly tested your evening routine and gotten better sleep, you still feel drowsy, you can try adding a power nap to your day, preferably during the early afternoon.
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