What is a power nap?

A power nap is a brief period of sleep taken during the day. Most people picture little children when they think about naps. Children need short rest intervals for proper physical and mental growth as well as for improved emotions and behavior. Adults can benefit from the same things. The extent to which the mind goes through the sleep cycle is the main distinction between a power nap and regular sleep. Never take a nap after the first three stages of sleep. You are not napping if you go into REM deep sleep. The deep drowsiness that makes individuals frequently regret taking a nap in the first place can be brought on by waking up during the REM sleep cycle.

How long does a power nap last?

Some experts advise taking a power nap for no longer than 20 minutes. However, everyone agrees that it shouldn't last longer than 30 minutes. That's because, according to the Sleep Foundation, the body enters a deep sleep around that time, and waking up from a deep sleep might create grogginess. Sleep inertia is another name for this feeling of grogginess or sleepiness. It occurs when your body thinks you need to sleep longer because your brain has already begun to enter a deeper sleep state.

Benefits

You get more than just a feeling of well-being from a little power nap. In actuality, taking a nap during the day has a variety of unexpected cognitive, emotional, and beneficial effects.

Cognitive Capacity

Power naps improve "perceptual learning," which depends on sensory cues for things like face recognition. The same advantages of a full night's sleep are obtained from a 60–90 minute power nap. In fact, a power nap has the same "memory consolidation" advantages as a full night's sleep because memories are transferred from the hippocampus to various regions of the cortex during sleep for long-term storage. When taken after a study session, power naps can improve "associative memory," which helps people acquire the meaning of words in a foreign language.

Emotional Control

A 60-minute midday nap has been demonstrated to help with emotional regulation, particularly with frustration tolerance and impulsive control. A 20% drop in brain serotonin due to sleep loss might cause irritation. There is no quicker method to lift a bad mood than exercise, according to eminent sleep researchers, who have said this about naps.

Creativity and Productivity

Studies on employee exhaustion have indicated that afternoon naps should be permitted at work since they improve mood, morale, and vitality for six hours even if the napping employee does not feel more rested. Power naps are positively correlated with creativity, which is defined as the creation of associative networks and the synthesis of disparate pieces of knowledge. According to several studies, REM sleep in particular is to blame for the creative thinking we associate with the term.

How to take a power sleep?

There are those folks who wake from power naps prepared to take on the world. Some people need some time to overcome their sleep inertia and avoid feeling drowsy. To determine whether a power nap is effective for you, some trial and error may be necessary. However, if you can find some time for an afternoon sleep, these tips can help you make the most of it.

1. Set an alarm

Set a wake-up alarm for 20 or 30 minutes into your power nap to prevent it from turning into a marathon sleep session.

2. Make it early

In order to avoid a day of sleep deprivation, avoid sleeping too late in the day. This can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night. Take a nap early in the day to avoid interfering with your ability to sleep at night.

3. Set your surrounding

Your daytime nap is just as crucial as your nighttime nap in a peaceful setting. Find a cool, quiet, dark area to slumber, then get a warm blanket. Even if you don't recall waking up during the nap, noise, light, and uncomfortable temperatures might impair the quality of your sleep.

Reboot Your Brain With A Power Na, Here’s How To Do It Right