13 Reasons Why You Should Take Power Naps And Tips On Napping

Not surprisingly, I don’t remember taking naps as an infant, but I do recall being forced to take a siesta when I first visited Spain. I was about six at the time, and my aunt, who, with her partner, took me and three other boys to Benidorm long before it became the popular tourist resort that it is today.

And all four of us hated it. For starters, none of us were used to taking naps in the early afternoon, and then we were on holiday, and we wanted to be doing things, like going for a swim (which was forbidden immediately after eating) or playing outside.

I never thought anything of it until 30+ years later, when I was severely depressed, and extremely tired.

And that’s when I started taking afternoon naps – voluntarily.

They really helped redress my sleep deficit, and I did feel better for them.

So, what are the benefits of taking naps, and what are the best tips for ensuring you maximize those benefits?

This article addresses those questions.

Natural Sleep Patterns

Mammals are divided into two groups when it comes to sleep – monophasic, and polyphasic.

Over three quarters of mammalian species are polyphasic, which simply means they sleep for several short periods throughout the day.

Humans, on the other hand, are one of the smaller group of monophasic sleepers, who split their day into two separate periods – one longer period of wakefulness, and one shorter one of sleep.

It is not clear whether humans have evolved to be monophasic, or whether it is our current way of life in countries such as the UK and USA that has led us to abandon our polyphasic patterns.

Because, as I mentioned above, afternoon naps, or siestas, are still common in many countries.

And, of course, both young children and older adults still take naps.

If so many animals do this, as well as many humans (dependent on age and location), then it seems reasonable that there must be some reason for this behaviour.

The Benefits Of Napping

For cultural reasons then, taking an afternoon nap is almost seen as a sign of weakness, or of being a cissy.

So, let’s talk about why you should consider taking afternoon naps:

• Communication. When we are tired, we are less able to accurately read other people, which is important, because only 7% of our communication is via the words people use (in terms of perception, not effectiveness) – the other 93% comes from body language and vocal tone.
• Fewer Chronic Diseases. Because lack of sleep stresses our body, it is hypothesized that this can lead to chronic diseases, including cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and obesity – all of which can shorten our life.
• Heart Disease Protection. One British study found that a single night of bad sleep can increase your risk of heart disease, because your blood vessels become less flexible.

  The good news is that a nap (or catching up on that lost sleep) can undo the damage. The British Medical Journal suggested that “people who take a daytime nap once or twice a week are almost 50 per cent less at risk compared with those who never snooze during the day.”

• Libido. Here’s one for the men! Apparently sleeping for fewer than five hours a night can cause a drop in testosterone levels, which in turn leads to lower sex drive, reduced sperm motility, and even erectile dysfunction. Maybe taking a nap isn’t so cissy after all! 🙂
• Memory. A German study found that taking a nap after learning something can increase your retention of that information by as much as 500%.

  Other research found that a sleep deficit can increase your chances of developing false memories.

• Mood. Being tired makes most people cranky, and this can worsen throughout the day, but an afternoon nap can help put us in a better mood again.

  One study found that children who take mid-day naps are happier, with fewer behavioural problems – and they perform better at school too. A separate study concluded that these mid-days naps are beneficial for all children – not just the younger ones.

• Performance. A nap can restore our alertness, reduce mistakes, and improve overall performance. An oft-quoted study conducted by NASA involving astronauts and military pilots who were prone to sleepiness found that a 40-minute nap improved their performance by 34%, and their alertness by 100%.

  Also, a Stanford University study concluded that athletes who slept more over a period of three weeks achieved faster sprint times, longer endurance, a lower heart rate, and better work-outs in general. They say that if you don’t allow your body enough sleep time to recover after a work-out, your mood and reaction times can suffer.

• Recovery From All-Nighters. While we know that trying to work through the night (e.g. cramming for an exam) is not a good idea, research has shown that taking two short naps the day after can help restore normal functions faster.
• Reduced Horniness. You may be wondering why this is a benefit, but one college study found that being too tired led to men finding women more attractive and assuming that those women were more interested in casual sex.

  So, being tired could cause you to make inappropriate sexual advances, which is never a good thing. Why is this the case? They found that lack of sleep affects the frontal lobe of your brain, which is the area responsible for impulse control, judgment, and both social and sexual behaviour.

• Safety. Statistics show that you are three times more likely to be involved in a traffic accident when you are tired. (And did you know that going without sleep for more than 20 hours is the equivalent of being legally intoxicated?)

  So, if you’re driving and feel drowsy, or you find it difficult to keep your eyes open, do yourself and everybody else on the roads a favour – pull over and take a short nap.

  When I was about 17, I pulled an all-nighter, doing maintenance work on my car, and the next day at work (I was a van driver), I remember indicating to turn right, and the next thing I knew, I’d turned the corner with no recollection of how I got there. That scared me, so the first thing I did was pull over and take a nap. Yes, it made me late with the rest of the day’s deliveries, but that was preferable to what might have happened otherwise.

• Skin Tone. Loss of sleep can make your skin age faster by impairing its ability to heal itself.
• Stress Reduction. Studies have shown that taking a nap can help your body lower your blood pressure as well as recover from anxiety and stress more quickly.
• Weight Management. Another study conducted at Stanford found that the less you sleep, the more you want to eat. This is because sleep deprivation can trigger the production of the so-called “hunger hormone”, which is scientifically called ghrelin or lenomorelin. This hormone reduces levels of leptin, which is a hormone that signals to your brain that you are full.

Note that some of these benefits apply both to getting more regular sleep overnight as well as to taking naps, but since sleep deprivation is a growing issue in the USA, then afternoon naps may be a more realistic solution in many cases.

Napping Tips

1. Duration. How long to nap for is probably the most common question. One sleep expert recommends starting with a 20- to 30-minute nap. Later, it is deemed best if you can increase it to 90 minutes, because that represents (for most people) one complete sleep cycle. This may not always be possible of course, but a shorter 20-minute nap has been shown to be a great pick-me-up.
2. Light. As with all sleep, it’s best if there is no light at all. During the night, this is usually less of an issue, but for a daytime nap, you may want to invest in a sleep mask to block out as much of the light as you can.
3. Location. Ideally, it should be somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed. If you’re at work and there is nowhere suitable, then one option (which I have used in the past) is your car.
4. Position. It is generally preferable to sleep or nap lying down, but if that is not possible, you need at the very least to be comfortable.
5. Sound. You should also try to ensure there is as little sound as possible, so you could try listening to relaxing music (or white noise / nature sounds), maybe with noise-cancelling headphones, or you could wear ear plugs. Remember though to be safe – you don’t want to be so oblivious to all sound that you continue napping if there is an emergency.
6. Temperature. As with the recommended bedroom temperature, it’s better to be slightly on the cool side than too warm.
7. Time. Try to avoid napping too late in the day, otherwise you may disrupt your overnight sleep. Generally speaking, it’s best to get your nap in between noon at the earliest and 3:00 pm at the latest.
8. Waking Up. If you’re anything like me, your “short nap” may turn into one that lasts several hours. This is not a good idea – trust me, I can wake from one of these extended naps and not know what day it is – and it does disrupt your overnight sleep. So, the only solution I can bank on is setting an alarm.

Coffee Naps

I have never tried this myself, not being much of a coffee drinker, and I’m not sure I can recommend it either, given that coffee (or, perhaps more accurately, caffeine) is likely not good for us, but if you already drink coffee and plan on continuing to do so, then this type of nap may be perfect for you.

It takes advantage of how coffee affects our brain, and this is what you need to do:

1. Before you plan on having your nap, drink some coffee as quickly as you can. Ideally, this should take no more than a few minutes.
2. Get to sleep immediately – i.e. before the coffee has time to react in your brain and dull your drowsiness (and before it makes you want to go to the bathroom).
3. In about 20 minutes, which just happens to be the perfect duration for a power nap, the caffeine in the coffee will kick in and wake you up again – automatically.

Like I said, I cannot personally vouch for this strategy, but give it a try if it seems like it would work for you.

Other Products To Help You Nap

Some companies are starting to allow, or even encourage, napping at work, because of the overall productivity improvements, and they are installing nap rooms or “nap pods”.

Other ingenious products include the desk hammock, which is designed to be suspended from your desk so you take a nap at your workstation, and reclining office chairs that allow you to lie flat on them.

Conclusion

So, you may once have thought that taking a nap was a sign of laziness or weakness, but now you know the truth – that’s it a key to a healthier, happier life.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Earplugs
2. Noise-Cancelling Headphones
3. Sleep Mask
4. White Noise & Nature Sounds Machine (which is the one I use)