Power Naps – Their Wonders and Benefits

Power nap your way to the top of your work…and health

I think anybody who has dozed off at work knows about power naps. Don't you? Then you better be the number one contender for employee of the month. Just kidding. A power nap is basically a short sleep intended to re-energise or revitalise the napper (you). Power naps are usually taken after lunch or somewhere between 1 to 4 pm.

There are two fundamental types of sleep: non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep (which has three different stages - see table below) and REM sleep. Both of these two types of sleep are linked to specific neuronal activity and brain waves. When you start to sleep, you cycle through all stages of non-REM and REM sleep, about four to five cycles during a typical night. One sleep cycle lasts for about 90 to 120 minutes.

So where does a power nap fit in?

Type and Stage of Sleep	Characteristics	What Happens to You
Stage 1 Non-REM sleep	Initial phase of light sleep that you experience in the transition from being awake to being asleep. This usually last for 5 to 10 minutes.	Also called relaxed wakefulness stage. When you wake up from this stage, you might feel like you didn’t get any sleep at all.
Stage 2 Non-REM sleep	The main phase of light sleep.	Your muscles begin to relax fully. Your heart rate and breathing slow down preparing you for deep sleep.
Stage 3 Non-REM sleep	Deep sleep or zombie mode (just kidding).	This is where people sleep talk, sleepwalk (zombie mode), have screaming episodes with flailing extremities (night terrors), and bedwetting.
REM Sleep	Usually happens around 90 minutes after falling asleep. Most of your dreams occur here.	Your extremities are paralysed during this phase, so you literally can’t act out your beautiful or horrible dream. Faster heart rate and breathing can also happen at this stage.
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Note: Non-REM sleep was traditionally divided into four stages. It has been reduced to three in the 2007 update by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

A power nap occurs during stage 1 and stage 2 of non-REM sleep (light sleep). So, how long should a power nap last to get the full benefits?

In 2006, a group of researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia studied a group of people who only had five hours of sleep per night. They wanted to find out which power nap duration was the most beneficial by analysing different nap lengths (0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 minutes). They found that a 10-minute power nap was overall the most beneficial duration.

The 5-minute power nap resulted in a few benefits when compared to the no power nap control group.
The 10-minute power nap resulted in instantaneous (right after the nap) improvements in all test measures including sleepiness, vigour, fatigue, sleep latency, and cognitive performance. Cognitive performance testing included learning, memory, problem-solving, and paying attention. Some of the benefits even lasted for about 155 minutes.
The 20-minute nap led to improvements appearing 35 minutes after the nap and the benefits lasted to almost 125 minutes after the nap.

The 30-minute nap had a period of delayed alertness and impaired performance right after napping which is a sign of sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is a normal physiological state of transition from sleep to wakefulness. You may feel drowsy, disoriented, and have difficulty with your fine motor skills (moving small muscles). But improvements followed this period and lasted up to 155 minutes after the power nap.

So a power nap anywhere between 10 to 30 minutes gives benefits, but anything more than 30 minutes can make you feel groggy or drowsy and even fatigued. You can adjust the time frame based on the specific tasks you will accomplish after napping using the results of the study as a guide.

Health Benefits of Power Naps

A power nap is enough to promote declarative memory performance. Say what?! Simply put, declarative memory, also called explicit memory, is the memory you use to remember facts, relevant data, and events. A study published in the Journal of Sleep Research in 2008 demonstrated that an ultra-short sleep (power nap) during the day is sufficient to jumpstart or promote retention of previously acquired declarative material (dates and events). So, in essence, you can sharpen your memory and retain significant dates, data, and events better if you take a power nap.
Increases your chances of preventing a heart attack or of developing coronary artery disease (CAD). Some epidemiological studies have found that the incidence of coronary mortality (e.g., heart attack) is low in groups of people who take midday naps. This inverse relationship is particularly evident among workers.
Power naps improve alertness, performance, and increase your ability to learn. This has been proven among emergency department physicians and nurses who go on long shifts (12-hour night shifts).
Did you get enough sleep last night? Are you sleep deprived? Power naps can fill in the gaps of insufficient sleep from last night. Just make sure you don’t go over 30 minutes. Otherwise, you may have difficulty falling asleep again later that night.

How to Become a Pro at Power Napping – Practical Tips

Search for your napping place.You read that right. Always look for a good spot in your workplace or home to take your power nap. You’ll only be napping between 10 to 30 minutes so better find a good spot where you will not be disturbed and ensure you’re comfortable. The nice thing about power napping is that you can do it almost anywhere.
Make the time you take your power nap regular (or consistent). This will make it easier for you to fall asleep right away.
Set the alarm on your cell phone or watch to ensure you’ll only be napping between 10 to 30 minutes.
The best power naps are taken in the afternoon, between 1 to 4 pm. Don’t sleep beyond 4 pm because you might have difficulty sleeping again at night.
Listen to relaxing or soothing music if you have difficulty falling asleep. Avoid any reading material, even if it’s boring!
Try a coffee nap. Sounds counterproductive, doesn’t it? Not really. It takes time for coffee to kick into your system. It’s not immediate. The benefits of that coffee happen when you wake up from a power nap. You feel more energised and refreshed because the effect of the coffee has already started in your brain. A coffee nap is simply drinking coffee before napping. According to scientists, a power nap gets your brain ready to receive the caffeine from the coffee you drank. Of course, this may not work for everybody.

So, do you need a power nap every day? That’s a resounding yes. Keep the practical tips stated above in mind and power nap your way to the top of your work…and health. A power nap will replenish your energy levels, clear your mind, increase creativity, improve memory, and boost your cognitive skills.