No matter where you are, you can sleep, and work hard and tired.
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Editor’s note: Many people may never have the habit of taking a nap, and never understand the potential benefits of a nap. But the truth is, nap can make you more energetic to cope with the next job, but also bring you creativity. So, if you want to develop the habit of taking a nap, let’s take a look at the 10 recommendations that the author has tested. This article is translated from medium, article author Maya Kroth, the original title How to Take the Perfect Nap.
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Image source: George Greaves
My current life can be divided into two stages: before nap and after nap. From birth to about 30 years old, I didn’t have the patience to sleep, because naps made me feel groggy, overwhelmed, or missed something more interesting in the world. And to be honest, I never felt that I could fall asleep during my nap.
Seven years ago, when I moved to Spain with the financial support of the Fulbright project and found a book about the history of nap during the research, everything changed. I work in the archives every morning, go home around 2 pm, eat the most sumptuous lunch in my capacity, then climb to the bed to start “study naps.” In the first few days, I was lying there, wide-eyed, and thinking. Day after day efforts have paid off, and I finally achieved the goal of a perfect nap.
In fact, after a nap, I am completely unsure whether I am asleep. But I actually went to sleep after unknowingly, and when I woke up, I was full of energy and ready to start a new job. Over the years, I have tempered my nap into an art that is in harmony with my physical laws. If I expect the feeling of tiredness to come, try to find a place to rest – if not at home, then in the car or in the park. When I left Spain, I had already developed the habit of taking a nap. Since then, nap has become my secret weapon against burnout and exhaustion. Here are some nap tips that I would like to share with you that I find very useful.
Find your own routines
The desire for sleep is strongWhether it is closely related to changes in body and brain temperature, it is reflected in the 24 hours a day cycle. Everyone, whether living in a warm or cold climate or eating a big meal, will experience these subtle changes, which are the natural reactions of the body – usually around 6-8 hours after waking up in the morning. . For most people, “the prime time for a nap is between 1 pm and 3 pm,” the leader in the nap research field, “Napping, changing your life!” Sara Mednick, author of Take a nap, Change Your Life!, says. So it’s best to plan your nap time according to the schedule of work. When your body feels sleepy naturally, you will fall asleep more easily.
Get the stage of sleep
Different sleep stages have different benefits for the brain and body, so you can adjust your nap time and length of time to achieve your desired purpose. According to Mednick, the first 20 minutes of your nap are in the second sleep phase, which is responsible for providing energy and alertness. Sleep longer, you will enter the slow wave sleep (SWS) phase, which is when the brain begins to process memories and information, and then the REM phase, which helps to increase your creativity. If you fall asleep at your best nap time and keep sleeping for 90 minutes – what Mednick calls “perfect nap” – you’ll have to spend a complete sleep cycle, perfectly balancing these three stages.
However, not all naps are the same. Mednick wrote: “According to experience, a nap early in the day will make your rapid eye movements more productive, and a nap in the late afternoon will make your sleep better.” If you want to do all sorts of things Dream, or if you are working on a creative project, you may wish to try to sleep later in the morning, which will increase your creativity, but if you have been feeling exhausted, then choose to sleep a little later. Feel.
If you feel awake when you wake up, it may be because you have slept for too long
Sometimes when you sleep, there may be a feeling of disorientation. I have had this experience. When you wake up in slow wave sleep, you will have this feeling, and slow wave sleep is supplemented. The second stage of energy occurs after sleep. If you feel that this is happening frequently, try starting a few minutes early to see if you feel more energetic.
The perfect sleep time is about 20 minutes
Although Mednick called the 90-minute nap “the absolute best choice,” the National Sleep Foundation recommends sleeping for 20 to 30 minutes. This is enough time for you to enter a vibrant second stage of sleep without worrying about sleeping too long to feel after waking up.feel sleepy. It seems common to think that sleeping for 26 minutes is the best: it is based on a famous NASA study in 1994, which found that long-distance pilots who slept 25.8 minutes were more alert than pilots who did not nap. 50%, the performance on some tasks is also 34% higher. I usually set the alarm clock for about 30 minutes, leaving myself a few minutes to fall asleep.
Napping should not be too late
Experts say that too late nap will affect your night’s sleep. So don’t sleep too long or too late during the nap during the day, especially if you have difficulty sleeping in the evening.
A cup of coffee and go to bed
In the days before I developed my nap habit, I would choose to use a cup of Starbucks to get rid of the afternoon’s difficulties and listlessness. But you can have the best of both worlds. Because caffeine takes about 20 minutes to work—almost exactly the recommended nap time—so you can drink your latte before going to bed. Caffeine is like a natural alarm clock that wakes you up and prepares for the next job. A 2003 study in Japan found that taking a nap after drinking coffee is more effective against daytime sleepiness than a coffee nap.
Sleep thinking
For many of us, the main obstacle to falling asleep quickly is that thinking is too active. “Suit Bishop” Tricia Hersey suggests that if you don’t have this habit, try writing a diary before you lie down, or proceed to deal with anything that bothers you. You can also try meditation to relieve stress and let your brain rest.
Carrying a nap with you
In the days before I developed my nap habit, I could find countless reasons for not taking a nap: the room was too bright or the traffic outside was too noisy. Then, some colleagues gave me a nap bag on the plane with sleep goggles, neck pillows and earplugs, so that I could have proper sleep conditions almost anywhere. Now I can’t live without this guy.
Practice makes perfect
You can train yourself to take a nap better. People who often take a nap like Hersey say that the more you sleep, the easier and more fun you fall asleep – just like riding a bicycle. Once your brain and body develop the habit of taking a nap, you will soon learn to fall asleep quickly and even wake up at the best time without an alarm clock. If you can’t fall asleep right away, Hersey said: “Come on, don’t feel any pressure.” Even if you can’t fall asleep, lying down can have a positive effect: science finds that even if you don’t sleep early, you can lie down like that. Can effectively reduce the sleepiness of sleepy drivers.
Sleeping with your heart
For Hersey and me, a nap inspired us to be obsessed with all things related to sleep. I spent hours studying linen duvets and memory foam pillows.