Napping Tips

There are huge benefits to napping and people should really incorporate thing on a regular basis, even if the only sleep hack you do is napping.

Here are the known benefits…

  • Increase alertness
  • Make better decisions
  • Preserve youthful looks
  • Lose weight
  • Improve stamina
  • Boost creativity
  • Help memory
  • Alleviate migraines
  • Speed up motor performance
  • Improve perception
  • Improve your sex life
  • Reduce risk of heart attack and stroke
  • Elevate mood
  • Reduce stress
  • Reduce dependence on drugs/alcohol
  • Improve the quality of your nocturnal sleep

If you look at NASA, which has the smartest scientific minds, they predict that an afternoon nap can increase productivity by 35% and decision-making by 50%.

The truth is that we are designed to nap. We have our core sleep at night, but we also have those lows in the day as well. You've probably experienced the 3pm low for the day. Well, this is a prime time for a nap.

Naps can be anywhere between 20-60 minutes. I think the best is if you limit it to only 20-30 minutes. When you start getting into the longer ranges, you feel groggy when you get out of it.

With all that said, you may think napping is easy, but it really isn't. I've felt tired at 2pm and I decided to lie down for a nap only to find myself unable to sleep. It's something your body will get used to if you apply it on a consistent basis.

Caffeine Nap

The caffeine nap is a pretty interesting thing. The University of Britain did some tests on fatigued drivers. They tried out different methods that could help them stay away at the wheel. The one that ended up working the best was the caffeine nap.

The idea is really simple. Caffeine takes around 30 minutes to make it to your blood stream and have an effect. All you have to do is drink a cup of coffee, energy drink, soda, or anything with caffeine. Immediately after you go take a 30-minute nap. By the time you finish, you'll be wide-awake and ready to go. I think this is a unique one because we live in probably one of the biggest periods of time in which people take caffeine. We use it to stay awake, but it works best when you combine it with a nap.


Sleep Hacks