Do Afternoon Power Naps Actually Work?

Do Afternoon Power Naps Work? Do you ever feel like you just cannot keep your eyes open while sitting at your desk in the afternoon? There are a lot of people who do. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of people who swear by the effectiveness of the power nap.

Think back a little bit to the days when you were in college. Don’t you remember those days when you simply felt better after getting about a 20 to 30-minute nap in the afternoon? You may have even heard your professor encourage you to go back to the dorm and indulge in a short nap each day to help you get through your studies. The truth is that power naps really do work, so why isn’t everyone taking the time to get their s each day?

If you have ever stared at your computer screen for hours on end trying to finish a project, you have probably found yourself drifting off mentally. This happens because the brain just gets tired of doing the same thing over and over again without getting a break. Thinking back to those college days again or maybe it was high school; remember how you were told to take a break every 45 minutes to an hour to give what you had been studying time to sink in? The same thing is true with work, but very few employers are hip to this idea.

Here is what recent studies show that you can expect if you get your afternoon power nap.

• Increase in creativity
• Increase in reaction time
• Increased motivation
• Increase in short-term memory
• Increased patience
• Increased vision acuity
• Increased ability to learn
• Increased motivation
• Reduced risk for heart troubles

Along with these improvements, there are dozens more, and they have shown that a 20-minute afternoon nap is more effective than getting an extra 20 minutes of sleep during the night. With so much evidence demonstrating that a power nap improves mental and physical performance, isn’t it strange that more of us are not napping every day?

So where should you nap, just about anywhere will do even though if it is available to you lying down is best. If you leave work for lunch, a nap in the car before returning to work is a great idea. Other than that, the break room may provide a quiet retreat just long enough to rest. Your desk chair may be okay if you clear it with your boss or a park bench where you do not feel threatened.

Any power nap should be finished with some kind of vigorous exercise to get the blood pumping again and shake off the grogginess of sleep. A good walk up a flight of stairs or around the office should do the trick. The Needak Rebounder is an excellent choice if you have room in your office and will help build strength and stamina with a great cardio workout, and for those who simply do not have time for a power nap this type of exercise should help reduce the need to sleep more.

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