March 05, 2007
Power Nap Guidelines
Energize by becoming a napster
By CAROLYN POIROT
Star-Telegram Staff Writer.
There is no substitute for sleep.
Scientists say adequate sleep is as important for good health as nutrition and exercise. It's also the easiest way to improve alertness, memory and overall cognitive performance.
Last spring, the Institute of Medicine issued a report on how sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are having devastating effects on the personal health, performance and well-being of tens of millions of Americans.
Since most Americans seem unable to regularly get as much sleep as they need, some researchers are recommending naps when they're needed most -- in the early afternoon.
"What it does is cancel out the detriments of not sleeping; makes up for lost sleep -- reverses sleep deprivation symptoms to make you smarter, healthier, more productive and less stressful," says Sara C. Mednick, Ph.D. "Anyone can benefit from a little daytime snooze."
Mednick is the author of a new book, Take a Nap! Change Your Life.
She talked to the Star-Telegram in a phone interview (so she could take a late-morning nap) about the latest scientific research on napping:
Q: What really woke up medical science to the importance of sleep?
A: About 10 years ago, Harvard researchers started questioning how this thing we spend about one-third of our lives doing affects us physically and mentally.
Q: What kind of nap works best?
A: The effect depends on the length of nap as well as the time of day. As a basic rule, 15 to 20 minutes is about right to make you feel refreshed and alert.... That's why it's called a power nap. It's the kind of nap you most often need about 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon. A nap of 20 to 50 minutes not only restores alertness, but also helps clear the mind of any useless information that has built up, and aids in memorization. A 45-minute nap in the morning ... is good for learning and creativity while a 45-minte nap in the late afternoon will give you more cleansing, slow-wave sleep.
Q: Will a nap during the day keep me awake at night?
A: That's a good thing to worry about, but studies show naps don't interfere with nocturnal sleep.
Q: What can you do to wake up alert and without grogginess?
A: That's called sleep inertia. When your brain is in a deeper sleep, slow-wave pattern, it can be difficult to suddenly shake off the grogginess and get into hyperactive mode.... If you wake up with a little inertia, you can splash water on your face, move around, and have a spot of caffeine to help you through it.
Q: How do college students make up for all the sleep they are missing?
A: High school and college students are in a phase where their sleep patterns are shifting. They don't need any less sleep, but they can go to sleep later at night and then sleep later in the morning. In college, kids learn to control their own sleep cycles. It's OK to stay up late if you can sleep later. I recommend 20-minute naps between classes and work or study time to help them stay alert, and hourlong restorative naps on the weekend to help clear their minds and aid in memorization.
Naps for sale
Two corporate executives were sleeping in hooded lounge chairs in the "napping center" on the 22nd floor of the Empire State Building in New York when we called MetroNaps recently at about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
"Our peak time is 2 to 4 p.m., and we are busiest in the middle of winter when it gets dark earlier, and people always seem more tired," said Arshad Chowdhury, co-founder of MetroNaps, a company that manufactures, sells and installs sleeping pods, and operates the napping center in the Empire State Building.
Those who stop for a nap in the semi-enclosed lounges sleep on their backs with knees slightly elevated because it takes the weight off their lower backs, and doesn't mess up their hair or makeup or wrinkle their clothes, Chowdhury said in a telephone interview. A 20-minute nap costs $14.
The beds sell for $12,500 and rent for $800 a month. About 100 of them have been sold to 30 businesses, including Procter & Gamble, several spas, three hospitals, an airport and four for the student center at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, he said.
"We were planning to franchise the idea, but now we are concentrating on selling and installing them all over the country," said Chowdhury, who started testing the concept in 2001 after seeing a poll that showed about 30 percent of those surveyed wanted to nap at work if it were allowed.
"Attitudes have changed. We were met with a lot of skepticism when we started looking for a place to rent. Now studies show more and more benefits of sleep, and people better understand the need. People tell me all the time, 'I wish you would put one in my building,'" he said.
National Napping Day
Much of the country will be sleep-deprived on March 12, the day after Daylight Saving Time steals an hour of our precious dozing. It's also National Napping Day, a chance to get "nap-ready." Bill and Camille Anthony, who published The Art of Napping at Work in 1999, organized the first national observance of Napping Day.
A few businesses celebrate with companywide nap breaks that include a free lunch, soothing music and sleep masks. Employees are encouraged to bring mats, lounges and pillows to work, and everyone celebrates "nap time" in the early afternoon, but the observance hasn't spread far and wide, Bill Anthony says.
"It's obvious to me that well-rested workers perform better and more safely on the job. There is less stress, less fatigue, but I guess it's not so obvious to most employers," he says.
Many airlines now allow pilots to nap during long transoceanic flights so that they will be mentally alert and physically quick for landing, and both Burlington Northern and Union Pacific Railroads are "nap-friendly" companies. Anthony maintains a list of what various companies do to promote well-rested employees on his Web site, napping.com.
Napping at work
Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway was among the first companies in the nation to implement a "napping at work policy" when up to 45-minute naps were authorized in 1997.
"We decided it was a good idea to establish this policy about 10 years ago when scientific studies started showing the value of naps for maintaining mental and physical alertness and safety," said Patrick Hiatte, a BNSF spokesman.
An on-duty nap policy was adopted for road crews -- those who work on the trains, including conductors and engineers -- as part of BNSF's "Fatigue Countermeasures" agreement, Hiatte said.
The policy allows employees, on request, to take 14 hours of rest anytime they return to their home terminals, Hiatte says.
The on-duty naps, most often taken while freight trains are waiting for departure or for other trains to pass, must not exceed 45 minutes (including time to fall asleep) and another crew member must stay nearby, awake and ready to wake up the napping co-worker at all times.
The idea is to take turns taking short naps anytime that the train is stopped so napping won't jeopardize the safety of the train or cause delay, Hiatte says.
Labels: metronaps, nap, power nap, powernap
