Have you ever dreamed of a magical solution to keep you alert during the day without caffeine? Have you ever caught yourself being jealous of those people who can just close their eyes for a few minutes and wake up refreshed? Power naps might be the perfect solution for you! Naps of 10-20 minutes are considered very efficient for staying alert during the day, especially after an insufficient sleep during the previous night. Naps like these might be useful in reducing sleepiness, engaging better performance during the day. But, use this tool carefully! If you intend to let your naps get longer, the opposite outcome will be on its way. Long naps during daytime might interfere with your ability to fall asleep, stay asleep and even affect the quality of your sleep.
1. Start with finding your napping location - your couch, bed or a lounge chair.
2. Set the scene: lower lights or use an eye mask to make it completely dark, set the air conditioning to your favorite and… that’s it! You’re ready!
3. Set a timer to 25 minutes and lay your head down. The first few times of falling asleep in the middle of the day are particularly hard, but it gets better.
4. Whether you fell asleep or not, don’t be tempted to do anything during this time. No TV, no cleaning, no work, nothing. Just rest. And if you fall asleep, even better.
5. When you hear the alarm - get up. Stand up wherever you are as soon as you can, end this nap immediately.
6. Repeat the next day, and the day after.
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7. When you feel like your nap training is going well, and you feel good about the falling-asleep part, start reducing the first five minutes… instead of setting a timer to 25 minutes, try 24, then 23 and so on, until you get to 20 minutes.
Finding it harder to fall asleep during stressful times? There’s no reason to panic. While our minds are occupied with thoughts and concerns it’s perfectly natural to have difficulties relaxing and falling asleep… set your timer to 21-25 minutes, widening your window of time to gently fall asleep. It’s not the right time to let go of your power naps, they are an important part of your stress management and healthy well being. We’re sure you’ll find yourself back on track before you know it!
