Friday, June 20, 2008

To Nap or not to Nap

The answer is 'To'. Have you ever felt your eyes closing after lunch and have tried desperately to keep awake. Well, you don't have to feel guilty any longer. A short nap (which can be as long as 90 minutes) rejuvenates the body, enhances creative thinking, boosts sensory processing, clears your mind (not completely we hope), improves memory recall...well, you get the point. All this and more with detailed instructions (yes, nothing is simple any longer) here. Here is an interesting point, in case you missed it -- drink a cup of coffee before a short nap (yes!). Coffee takes about 20 to 30 minutes to kick in, just in time to make you alert when you wake up. Time to ask the boss for that couch in the office....(well, he has one!)

4 comments:

AmOK said...

Yes. This is a very good way to get paid for the time one sleeps -- naps during the day allow one to party later at night, thus forming a wonderfully rewarding cycle.

Have you seen reports like "Dr. Raoul Busou, a highly creative thinker, is known for religiously napping to feed his creative energy. Here is a video of Dr. Busou napping. Notice the deep breathing and serene expression signalling the release of creative energy. The empty coffee cup at his side shows that he follows the best practices for napping. Please join in next week for another edition of Power Nap."

Regrettably, LESS sleep is looked upon as virtue, not more. For example (okay, it's clear, it's clear!) "Dr. Raoul Busou awakens each morning, refreshed after hardly 3.5 hrs of sleep and goes for a morning 10K run. He works non-stop, 12-16 hour days seven days a week, a dynamo of energy and power, not sleeping for days on end when he is completing one of his major creative works! Dr. Busou has accomplished more in the last five years than most people do in a lifetime!!". It is Friday.

Gautam said...

I knew I was on to a good thing

AmOK said...

As you can see, this blogger doesn't sleep too much. Yawn! Time for a 5 hr restful sleep. Some will be writing blogs much longer into more nights than nap-happy chappies. Sleep less, live longer. Like the kings of old.

Sunil Mukhi said...

I'm happy to tell you that I tried this experiment today. Got up before 7 (the world looks so unfamiliar at that time!) and was in office around 8. Yes, I do mean 8 AM. Around 1:30 I went home, grabbed a bite and napped for exactly 30 min (observing carefully the warning in the article that long afternoon naps can make you groggy and disfunctional). Came back and am feeling top of the world.

Think I'll make it a habit! Not everyone is as lucky as I am, to live across the road from work - don't need the boss to provide a bed when I can just use my own!