It’s about 2:30 now; my first conference call was at 6am; I finished working at about
1am; and my last call with the Aussies is at 11pm tonight.
And I’m not the only one who lives like this.
Americans are seriously addicted to working hard.
It’s one of the reasons I came to New York.
It doesn’t take a scientist to know we’re probably not very efficient when we’re sleep
deprived.
Obviously, we’re all about the caffeine.
But when I found out there was something even more effective than my 3pm Diet Coke hit,
I was…intrigued.
[sciq intro]
New Yorkers—and most shift workers—are monophasic sleepers, meaning we have two distinct
parts of our days: one for being awake and one for being asleep.
But we’re in the minority: 85% of mammalian species are polyphasic sleepers, meaning they
sleep in intervals.
Are humans really supposed to be monophasic sleepers?
I mean, we need to nap as children and we need to nap when we get older, and many Mediterranean
cultures love a nap—so why are most adults so against it?
Napping seems to have bad press.
It is seen as lazy, weak, or for people with low standards.
But what if I told you a good old-fashioned daytime snooze could actually improve your
standards?
Interested?
A study at NASA on their military pilots found that a 40-minute nap improved performance
by 34% and alertness by 100%.
Multiple studies from the University of Michigan show the benefits of napping on your ability
to learn, your reaction time, logical reasoning and symbol recognition, and that naps are
good for your mood, making you less impulsive and arming you with a greater tolerance for
frustration.
So just how long should you nap for?
Well, apparently it’s quite the art form.
If you’re a newcomer to napping, or if you’re sleep deprived, you’re at risk of falling
into a deep sleep quite quickly, which can be hard to wake from.
This feeling is known as sleep inertia, and can leave you feeling groggy—the opposite
of what you’re aiming for.
So newbie snoozers are advised to have shorter naps, only 10 to 20 minutes long.
But 10 – 20 minutes is ideal for a boost in energy and alertness.
It seems that more experienced nappers are practiced at avoiding deep sleep and can enjoy
longer periods of rest without the sleepy hangover.
A 60-minute nap delivers improvement in remembering facts, faces and names so build one in to
your pre-party preparation to win over any crowd.
If you’ve got the luxury of a full 90 minutes, you can fit in an entire sleep cycle, complete
with REM sleep, and avoid the sleep inertia afterwards.
You also get maximum nap benefits including improved emotional and procedural memory,
and a boost in creativity.
One study showed that for people sitting a test, they attained the same learning benefits
after a 90-minute nap, as after an eight-hour sleep period.
So if you’re studying or sitting an exam, nap for a full sleep cycle of 90 minutes just
after you study, and before your exam if you can.
Research shows your retrieval from memory can improve five-fold.
Five times better memory!
And all you have to do is take a nap!
With all the research to prove naps are great for productivity, creativity and morale, leading
brands like Nike and Google are setting up designated nap pods for workers.
In fact, napping at work is becoming more accepted around the globe.
In Greece, where short siestas are encouraged, studies show that in those who nap twice a
week, their rate of coronary heart disease falls by 12%.
Nap three times a week, and it fell by a huge 37%!
In America, where heart disease is the leading cause of death, we just might be able to snooze
our way back to better heart health.
What do you guys think of naps?
Has this video inspired you to consider taking them more?
I know it has for me.
Lwt us know your thoughts in the comments below
HI everyone!
I'm Jayde Lovell, resident science nerd at the Young Turks Network.
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