After much research and experimentation I have developed the perfect recipe for Napping.
Sometimes 8 hours of sleep just isn’t enough, and you might need a “Power Nap” or “Nana Nap”.
The 4 Ingredients of the Perfect Nap:
1. Nap between the hours of 2pm to 5pm
- Napping in the evening is too tempting to sleep through the night
- Napping in the morning is just ridiculous, you’ve only just got up!
2. Nap in an environment as similar as possible to your normal sleep
- In your own bed, curtains drawn, no noise etc
3. Set an alarm for 45 minutes. Get up when the alarm goes off
- This time includes an allowance of about 15 minutes for falling asleep
- Make the decision before you nap that you will get up within 2 minutes of when your alarm goes off
- Don’t be tempted to keep sleeping
- This is very important to avoid sleep inertia which is when you feel groggy and want to keep sleeping, this state kicks in after about 30 minutes
4. Don’t worry if you weren’t asleep during the entire 45 minute nap
- Even just resting with your eyes closed is immensely beneficial
- Don’t extend your alarm (or ignore it when it goes off) if you think you didn’t get enough sleep
More Napping Resources
- Wikipedia article about Napping
- Wikipedia article about Power Naps
- Wikipedia article about Sleep Intertia
What About You?
- What napping technique works for you?
- What’s the most inappropriate place you’ve had a nap? Wedding? Funeral? At work?
Write your comments below.