Power Naps: What are they and why you need them

Sleep plays a major role in your physical and mental health. That’s because your body works hard at repairing itself when you doze off. Without good sleep, you become more prone to stress and other health issues.

While nightly sleeps are usually the focus when people when it comes to sleep-related topics, there’s another type of sleep that’s useful for rejuvenation purposes: power naps.

What Exactly Are Power Naps?

Power naps are naps that only last for 10 to 20 minutes. This length allows the body to go through the first 2 stages of the sleep cycle, both of which are considered “light sleep”. As the name suggests, a power nap allows you to recharge your mind and body within a short timeframe.

Why Are Power Naps Beneficial?

Can Alexa play rain sounds all night?

Studies show that 20-minute naps in the afternoon can improve the way people go about their tasks. Thus, if you feel like your mind isn’t performing as well as it should, a power nap can help bring back the focus that you need.

Listed below are some of its specific benefits:

1. Better Work Performance

Looking for a way to improve your performance at work? Apparently, power naps can do the trick. That’s because it improves your alertness levels, reaction times, and psychomotor speed. This puts you in the right zone to get things done the right way.

2.  Improved Learning Abilities

Are you in a situation where you constantly need to learn something new? Then, having regular power naps can help. Generally, sleep helps in consolidating your memory and retaining important information. Apparently, it also allows you to learn new things at a faster rate.

3. Enhanced Overall Moods

At its core, power naps can be energizing enough to help you overcome that familiar afternoon slump. Having more energy elevates your mood and increases your patience, thereby making you less prone to frustration and irritability.

4.  Notable Decrease in Blood Pressure

Lower blood pressure decreases your risk for heart-related diseases by around 10%. Aside from improving your work performance, learning abilities, and moods, power naps can also lower your blood pressure significantly.

Who Should Nap?

Given all the benefits that one can get from a power nap, it’s easy to assume that it’s good for everybody. While people who are generally healthy can get the best out of power naps, others who are suffering from sleep issues should forego it until it’s fixed.

For instance, those who are dealing with insomnia are less likely to feel sleepy at night if they take a power nap in the afternoon. This will only make it more difficult to fix the problem.

Now, if you’re getting the right amount of sleep each night anyway, there’s a high chance that you won’t even feel the need to nap. You just have to maintain what you’ve already been doing, or you can also improve your sleep hygiene by using high-quality sleep aids.

How Long Should You Nap?

The length of power naps is just 20 minutes at most. This may seem like a short time, but that’s really all you need to get that much needed recharge.

But why shouldn’t it go beyond 20 minutes? As mentioned earlier, this timeframe allows you to get only to the second stage of sleep, which is still considered “light sleep”.

Going beyond that means entering the third stage, which is already “deep sleep”. Waking up from this stage will make you feel sluggish instead of refreshed. Sometimes, you may even end up with a headache.

However, if you have the luxury to sleep longer than 20 minutes, you’re better off napping for 90 minutes. This allows your body to complete your sleep cycle, which makes you feel more rejuvenated upon waking up.

How to Nap Effectively

Effective napping can be different from person to person, and it’s up to you to discover which works best for you. If you wish to reap the full benefits of napping, here are some ways to do it:

1. Time Your Naps: This is especially important if you have a limited time for naps. Set an alarm to prevent oversleeping.
2. Eliminate Distractions: Commit to your naptime schedule by eliminating distractions such as mobile phones and laptops.
3. Nap in a Conducive Environment: Ideally, you should take your nap in a cool, quiet, and dark environment. However, if that’s not possible, you can wear an eye mask and listen to white noise or any other relaxing music.
4. Don’t Nap After 3PM: Most people find it hard to concentrate when they’re going through that signature energy crash after lunch. The best times for naps would be between 1PM and 3PM, but anything later than that may interfere with your nightly sleep.

Use the Power of Naps Accordingly!

If you’re looking for a way to get energized for the rest of your day, taking power naps after lunch can be a good way to do it. You just need to set aside 20 minutes to reboot your systems accordingly.