How To Nap

FOR YEARS, NAPS have gotten a bad rap, derided as a sign of laziness, weakness, or senility. We are “caught” napping or “found asleep at the switch.”

But lately napping has garnered new respect, thanks to solid scientific evidence that midday dozing benefits both mental acuity and overall health. A slew of new studies have shown that naps boost alertness, creativity, mood, and productivity in the later hours of the day.

A nap of 60 minutes improves alertness for up to 10 hours. Research on pilots shows that a 26-minute “NASA” nap in flight (while the plane is manned by a copilot) enhanced performance by 34 percent and overall alertness by 54 percent. One Harvard study published this year showed that a 45-minute nap improves learning and memory.

The body benefits, too. Napping reduces stress and lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke, diabetes, and excessive weight gain. Naps make you smarter, healthier, safer. But to understand how you can nap best – when, for how long, to what end – you need to understand your body.

BORN TO NAP
Most mammals sleep for short periods throughout the day. We have consolidated sleep into one long period, but the biological vestige remains. Our bodies are programmed for two periods of intense sleepiness: in the early morning, from about 2 to 4 am, and in the afternoon, between 1 and 3 p.m. This midday wave of drowsiness is not due to heat or too many fries at lunch (it occurs even if we skip eating). Rather, it arises from an afternoon quiescent phase in our physiology, which diminishes our reaction time, memory, coordination, mood, and alertness.

Most mammals sleep for short periods throughout the day

ARE YOU A LARK OR AN OWL?
To determine the best time to nap, it helps to know your “chronotype.” What time you would get up and go to sleep if you were entirely free to plan your day? If you’re a lark, apt to wake as early as 6 a.m. and go to sleep around 9 or 10 p.m., you’re going to feel your nap need around lor 1:30 p.m. If you’re an owl, preferring to go to bed alter midnight or 1 a.m., and to wake around 8 or 9 a.m., your afternoon “sleep gate” will open later, closer to 2:30 or 3 pm.

Are you a lark or an owl?