There are two distinct times of a day when we easily fall asleep, in the evening and early to mid-afternoon, which are around twelve hours apart. This is a natural cycle in humans, just as other mammals also have theirs. While the afternoon nap is more easily skipped than the longer nighttime sleep, the benefits of allowing one's body to follow its natural rhythm cannot be ignored.
Afternoon naps or siestas energize you and enhance your performance and well-being by improving mood, alertness, memory and creativity that usually drop after the morning peak. People whose jobs entail much decision-making or attention to details would definitely profit from power napping. But everyone else should also heed this advice as mistakes and accidents increase in the mid-afternoon, presumably because our mind and body simply needs a break to recharge at this time.
A 20 to 30-minute power nap is all it takes to get the benefits (but longer than 90 minutes for those deprived of sleep the night before so they can recover). So don’t feel guilty about it. The seeming loss in time can easily be compensated by improved performance. Actually, a company or office that prohibits power napping potentially wastes time and money because of reduced effectiveness, increased likelihood of rework due to mistakes, and crappy mood of employees.
“No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap.” -Carrie P. Snow
To read about rules on how to take a nap, click here.
To read about findings on studies about naps, click here.
Related tip: DAILY HAPPINESS TIP #21- Tired? Listen to Relaxing and Uplifting Music
To read HAPPINESS QUOTES, click here.
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