The good ol’ power nap
How I use napping as a productivity tool
I remember a time when I was much younger, my parents used to actually encourage mid-day naps, it didn’t matter if it was a weekday or weekend. Now that I look back at it, they might have just wanted some peace and quiet around the house, but one thing I do recall is how energetic and refreshed I felt after each nap.
This got me thinking, if mid-day naps were viewed as a necessity when we were younger 👶, why does that same logic not apply to our adult 🧑 lives?
As an adult I have seen the power of good rest. A person who gets the recommended amount of sleep each night (seven to nine hours for most adults) is more alert, more focused and more productive, than one who hasn’t.
How do these naps work?
In order to truly understand a power nap 💤, you need to differentiate it from regular sleep🛌. While sleep is refreshing, it is also time consuming, therefore for a nap to truly be a “power nap”, it needs to be kept under 90 minutes.
I would recommend that you avoid taking mid-day naps when and if you are procrastinating, and instead use them on work days that exceed 12 hours. This will help you keep yourself fresh and recharged 🔥 throughout the day without letting exhaustion affect your work.
I find that naps ranging from 15 to 20 minutes are typically enough to help me focus better and in turn helps increase my productivity; while naps ranging from 45 to 90 minutes not only refresh my body, but increase my creative 🖊️ thinking as well.
These naps have been pivotal in being a facilitator for learning and long-term memory retention 🧠, while also being able to boost my mood and alertness, even more than a dose of caffeine.
However, a shot of espresso prior to one of these naps has shown to greatly enhance your wake up (story for another time!). 😆
If you’re worried about feeling drowsy or resisting the urge to extend your nap into a full blown sleep, I would suggest moving around. This is somewhat equivalent to doing yoga as soon as you wake up in the morning, it will get your blood flowing 🧘.
These nap based schedules have time and time again helped me keep my productivity at optimal levels; and while I don’t expect anyone to immediately adapt to it, there is no denying the impact these naps have on your workflow.
Just remember, productivity can’t be forced; it can only be nurtured within a flexible, restful environment 🍃.
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