Power Naps

Power naps used to be called catnaps. The term power nap was coined by Cornell University social psychologist James Maas. It is essentially a short nap that is designed to refresh you, but what does the research say?

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies says that napping benefits cell repair, heart function, and hormonal maintenance. Power naps maximize these benefits, they get you the rejuvenating effects in as short a time as possible. Your brain benefits as well. A NASA study found that naps may not aid alertness, but they do improve memory functions.

Research also demonstrates that power naps boost productivity, lower stress, and improve learning and mood. From the MRIs of nappers, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies determined that with a nap, brain activity stays high throughout the day. Skip the nap, and brain activity declines later in the day.

Some Power Nappers

Many busy executives who don't get enough regular night time sleep make time for short naps. Steve Fossett, while making his record 67-hour flight around-the-world alone in his jet, took dozens of two and three-minute naps as his only sleep, and claims that he awoke refreshed. Lance Armstrong used naps as an important part of his routine when training for the Tour-De-France bicycle race. U.S. Marines in Iraq are instructed to take a power nap before going out on patrol.

Naps

Sleep normally comes in several stages, and a power nap is aimed at achieving the first two stages. These are the falling-asleep stage (relaxation and slower respiration), and the second stage of light restful sleep. The first stage takes about ten minutes, and the second can last for about ten to twenty minutes. This is why many people consider 20 minutes the ideal length for a power nap.

Length is still open to debate, though. Probably the ideal time varies for individuals, and is best discovered through experimentation. The important point here is that if you sleep too long, you get what is called "sleep inertia." This is when you feel heavy, it is hard to focus, and your mind is sluggish. Technically it is the winding down of activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex. If you nap too long, it can take thirty minutes or more to "reboot."

Power Nap Routine

A simple and interesting two-step routine for power napping has been developed from research done at the Loughborough University in the UK.

1. Relax your body and mind as much as you can and drink a cup of coffee.

2. Lay down, close your eyes, and let yourself fall asleep for 15 minutes.

Your body takes time to process the caffeine in the coffee. The idea, then, is that you get your nap or "micro-sleep" done and the caffeine hits just as you are ready to wake up and get back to work. The research was done using sleep-deprived subjects. They reported feeling very refreshed following this routine. This kind of power nap will probably work for those who are not as sleep deprived as well.

Can't Fall Asleep?

Do you have trouble falling asleep on short notice. Twenty minutes of relaxing and daydreaming may have benefits, but what if you really want that sleep time in your power nap? What works every time for me is brainwave entrainment CDs. Listen to these and your brainwaves slow automatically, putting you into meditative state - or asleep in my case.