July 06, 2006
Power nap as good as a night of sleep?
If you happen to miss out on a night's sleep, you may be able to get by on a power nap for a day. According to BBC news, tests showed that over 24 hours, those who took a power nap had similar results to someone who had 2 nights of sleep. At least when your schedule is busy, you know a power nap partially make up for lost sleep.
Remarkably, over 24 hours, the performance of those who took a good-quality "power-nap" was as good as volunteers in previous studies who were tested after two full nights' sleep.The researchers wrote: "From the perspective of behavioural improvement, a nap is as good as a night of sleep for learning on this perceptual task."Dr Derk-jan Dijk, from the Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey, said that there was increasing evidence that a combination of "short wave sleep" and REM sleep was important for learning and memory.However, he added: "We should not conclude that we can do with just a nap."Sleep is useful for more things than just these particular tests."Other research has suggested that people given six hours of sleep a night over a sustained period find it extremely detrimental."
Power Nap Club
In high school you probably had basketball clubs, newspaper clubs and yearbook clubs, but did your school have a Power Nap club?
Probably not, but a school in Greenwich saw the benefits of the power nap and started the Power Nap club . I wish they had this club when I was in high school!
The club was started by a teacher who figured that with all the pressure to succeed, some teenagers could use a little you-time.Once considered a joke, the Power Nap Club has grown to about 20 members who meet on Mondays after school. The club even has T-shirts, a logo of a cardinal (the school mascot) wearing a nightcap, and a Latin motto: "Veni vidi dormivi -- I came, I saw, I slept."At meetings of the Power Nap Club, members are encouraged to nod off in the classroom, and there's no making fun of those who snore.
Get the Perfect Power Nap
In this article from the Mens Journal, Dr. Sarah Mednick, talks about power naps and how to get the perfect power nap. I didn't know there were so many different types of naps! I'm going to try these tips out today.
Getting The Perfect Nap
1 The first consideration is psychological:Recognize that you're not being lazy; napping will make you moreproductive and more alert after you wake up.
2 Try to nap in the morning or just after lunch; humancircadian rhythms make late afternoons a more likely time to fall intodeep (slow-wave) sleep, which will leave you groggy.
3 Avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine as well asfoods that are heavy in fat and sugar, which meddle with a person'sability to fall asleep.
4 Instead, in the hour or two before your nap time, eat foods high in calcium and protein, which promote sleep.
5 Find a clean, quiet place where passersby and phones won't disturb you.
6 Try to darken your nap zone, or wear an eyeshade. Darkness stimulates melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone.
7 Remember that body temperature drops when you fall asleep. Raise the room temperature or use a blanket.
8 Once you are relaxed and in position to fall asleep, set your alarm for the desired duration (see below).How Long Is A Good Nap?
THE NANO-NAP: 10 to 20 secondsSleep studies haven't yet concluded whether there are benefits to thesebrief intervals, like when you nod off on someone's shoulder on thetrain.
THE MICRO-NAP: two to five minutesShown to be surprisingly effective at shedding sleepiness.
THE MINI-NAP: five to 20 minutesIncreases alertness, stamina, motor learning, and motor performance.
THE ORIGINAL POWER NAP: 20 minutesIncludes the benefits ofthe micro and the mini, but additionally improves muscle memory andclears the brain of useless built-up information, which helps withlong-term memory (remembering facts, events, and names).
THE LAZY MAN'S NAP: 50 to 90 minutesIncludes slow-wave plusREM sleep; good for improving perceptual processing; also when thesystem is flooded with human growth hormone, great for repairing bonesand muscles.
MJ PEAK PERFORMANCE: Snooze, You Win - Improve your mental and physical performance by power napping
Use Naps During the World Cup Soccer
With the World Cup Soccer season still going, people are losing sleep trying to watch the games. According to this article, some people are making use of powernaps during half time to try to catch up on sleep. Now that's an interesting application of the power nap!
The Electric New Paper, Singapore - The Electric New Paper News
...Some used the 15-minute half-time break to take a power nap, while forothers the nap continued through the second-half and for the entireduration of the second match shown at 3am....
