Benefits of napping

Do you take naps? I take one every day for 20-30 minutes during my lunch hour, and it really helps my afternoon performance at work. Mark Sisson writes,

Yeah: as much as people are willing to pay lip service to the importance of a solid eight hours every night (actually sleeping that many hours is another thing entirely), most do not seriously entertain the value of napping. That’s a real mistake, because not only do humans have a long and storied tradition of snoozing in the middle of the day, there are also huge benefits to naps. Far from being anti-productivity wastes of time, a well-timed nap can boost cognitive function, improve work output, and make you healthier, happier, and a better employee (and person).

Benefits of Napping

Napping has been shown to help stave off jet lag.
A 20-minute nap can improve “subjective sleepiness, performance level, and self-confidence.”
A quick nap can be enough to overcome the negative effects of sleep deprivation on learning and memory.
A study in Greek adults found that an afternoon nap was associated with improved heart health and reduced cardiovascular events.
A mere 26 minute nap can boost performance by 34%.
An afternoon nap improves post lunch “cognitive flexibility,” or the ability to multi-task.
Napping reduces stress, particularly the stress caused by sleep restriction.
Napping restores immune function impaired by sleep restriction.

Go here to read more.

Excuse me for a few minutes; I'm going to take a nap.

Sadly, you probably can’t do this at your office. The Ostrich Pillow is designed for napping in atypical locations. (Studio Banana Things)

From an article by by Matt McFarland in the Washington Post.

The average American worker spends $1,092 a year on coffee. We need that caffeine burst to stay alert. But there are tradeoffs, which professor Sara C. Mednick, a sleep expert, points out:

While it appears caffeine can keep you awake when sleep deprived, complex cognitive processes do not fare well on this drug. A study compared caffeine with napping and placebo conditions on three memory domains: visual, motor and verbal. On caffeine, verbal and motor skills decreased, whereas napping enhanced performance across all three tasks. Furthermore, a study of caffeine withdrawal showed that the immediate enhancements seen after caffeine abstinence completely disappear with regular use. It appears the perceived benefits of caffeine may be more related to release from withdrawal symptoms rather than actual performance enhancement.