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Birds do it, bees do it (we think), even educated monkeys do it. So let’s do it, people. Let’s fall asleep. (The musical portion of this blog is over; thanks for indulging.) But seriously: we’ve talked about the whys of taking naps on the blog before — they improve mood, creativity, memory function, heart health, and so much else — but never, to my knowledge, have we discussed how to take a nap. In fact, whenever we write about naps, we always get a few comments from people claiming they’re unable to nap during the day; they just can’t fall asleep, or when they do nap they wake up groggy and unable to work. In that case, read on, my sleepy friends.
1.
The first thing you should know is, feeling sleepy in the afternoon is normal. It doesn’t mean you had a big lunch, or that you’re depressed, or you’re not getting enough exercise. That’s just how animals’ cycles work — every 24 hours, we have two periods of intense sleepiness. One is typically in the wee hours of the night, from about 2am to 4am, and the other is around 10 hours later, between 1pm and 3pm. If you’re a night owl and wake up later in the morning, that afternoon sleepiness may come later; if you’re an early bird, it may come earlier. But it happens to everyone; we’re physiologically hardwired to nap.
2.
Naps provide different benefits depending on how long they are. A short nap of even 20 minutes will enhance alertness and concentration, mood and coordination. A nap of 90 minutes will get you into slow wave and REM sleep, which enhances creativity. If you sleep deeply and uninterruptedly the whole time, you’ll go through a full 90-minute sleep cycle, and recoup sleep you might not have gotten the night before (we’ve all heard it a million times, but most of us don’t get enough sleep at night).
3.
Try not to sleep longer than 45 minutes but less than 90 minutes; then you’ll wake up in the middle of a slow-wave cycle, and be groggy. I used to hate taking naps during the day for just this reason — I would always wake up in a fog. My problem was I hadn’t yet perfected the art of the 20-minute catnap.
4.
Find a nice dark place where you can lie down. It takes about 50% longer to fall asleep sitting up (this is why red eye flights usually live up to their name), and be armed with a blanket; you don’t want to be chilly. You also don’t want to be too warm, which can lead to oversleeping. (There was a kind of urban legend circulating when I was a kid: don’t fall asleep in the sun, or you’ll never wake up. Not true — but you might wake up three hours later with a ripe sunburn.)
5.
White noise can help you fall asleep, especially during the day when construction crews, garbage trucks, barking dogs and other noisy awake-world things can conspire to destroy your nap. Keep a fan on, or turn on a nearby faucet for a pleasing rushing-river sound. (Just kidding about that last one.)
6.
Don’t nap too close to bedtime, or you might not be able to fall asleep later. Remember, your inbuilt sleepy window is sometime in the early to mid-afternoon — try to nap then.
7.
Quit that silly job where they don’t let you take naps during the day.
[Illustration by the Boston Globe.]
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Comments (8)
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You still did not provide the only really useful piece of information. HOW do you fall asleep. This is a big problem for me. It takes me anywhere from 45-90 minutes to fall asleep sometimes HOURS to fall asleep.
It gets bad. I an DOZING OFF driving home but when I finally get home I can not fall asleep for hours.
I am on the computer NODDING OFF on the keyboard I climb into my bed 2 feet from the computer and I am up for HOURS.
HOW do I make myself fall asleep. I do not really have a problem staying asleep If I wake up to goto the bathroom I usually can get back to sleep without trouble. but if I wake up more than say 4-5 hours after I fell asleep I am not likely to fall back asleep again most of the time.
I did some research the typical time it takes the average person to goto sleep is 7 minutes. I would be happy with TRIPLE that :-)
Suggestions?
posted by Chris Taylor on 1-2-2009 at 3:33 am
For some reason, certain types of films (especially documentaries) always help me fall asleep. They also help you limit the time you spend with sleeping, because you inevitably wake up at the first commercial break :-)
posted by Zsolt Balla on 1-2-2009 at 5:01 am
Leave a faucet on? No no no! Leaving a fan on is barely acceptable ecologically, but wasting water like that during a whole nap is just appalling. A miniature fountain (which cycles water many times) or a “nature sounds” CD would be better choices.
posted by Platypus on 1-2-2009 at 7:03 am
I find that, personally, I either need to nap for 20 minutes or let myself just give’r and wake up whenever I wake up (which could be about three hours later). I often take naps on my lunch break, too. Though I get teased for it, it’s the only thing that keeps me going at work and in the evenings.
As for helpful hints to fall asleep, Chris Taylor, I’m sure you’ve read up on all the suggestions posted out there; don’t watch tv or go on the computer 30 minutes before bed, don’t keep a tv/comptuer in your bedroom, warm milk, yadda yadda…
It used to take me an hour to fall asleep, but I find that since I’ve aged a bit it’s getting easier and easier to fall asleep. Try going to bed at the same time each night and reading a book until you just can’t keep your eyes open any more. As well, if you find that you’re not able to fall asleep because you’re thinking too much, try a small meditation or relaxation. Concentrate on breathing and relaxing every part of your body, starting with each individual toe, and by the time you reach your head you should be asleep.
If that fails, just take some Gravol and have a glass of wine. Foolproof.
posted by Jenny on 1-2-2009 at 9:02 am
I am 100% in favor of the 20 minute nap. We have a quiet room in my office and I sometimes use my lunch break for a short nap (since I rarely get a nap at home because of my 2 children; ages 2 and 4 months). If I could get away with a 90 minute nap, I would, but the 20 minute nap is just as good sometimes. My wife, however, has a hard time napping. At night, she falls asleep reading and this kinda backfires when she tries to nap without reading. Its almost as if her body is used to the routine of reading to fall asleep and she can’t do it without the reading.
Personally, I have never had a problem with sleeping or napping (except during times where my kids don’t allow me to sleep). If I could recommend a sleep remedy, however, it would be to exercise before bed. Now, obviously, you don’t want to exercise 5 minutes before you go to sleep, but if you run, jog, or do some kind of exercise about an hour before you are ready for bed, this helps (at least it helps me). I would make sure, however, that you have at least a half hour cool down period before you attempt to fall asleep (and, if you have a bed partner who doesn’t want to smell your post work out odors, a shower too).
posted by Ian on 1-2-2009 at 9:50 am
I wish I had a job where there was a place to nap. I keep saying that I’m going to set up a cot in the office supply closet. Maybe I’ll just do that. Of course, then I’d have to explain that to the boss. However, if I’m more productive and feel better may explaining wouldn’t be too difficult.
Really, the whole “American work-ethic” thing is just wrong. People are much more productive if they can nap when they’re tired instead of pretending to do work or try to stare at a screen and stay awake.
posted by nihil on 1-2-2009 at 4:44 pm
I *love* to sleep! It’s my ’superpower’ I think…I can fall asleep in seconds, although on occasion it takes a few minutes (in which I panic that I suddenly have insomnia, and which is usually my last thought before falling asleep).
However, I don’t have a job that allows napping..not that I’ve asked. Hmmm…..
The thing is, if I lay down for a nap, I’m typically out for 2 hours.
@ Chris, I did read recently in a sports magazine that a study has been done lately regarding insomnia and the difficulty some people have getting to sleep at night. Light exercise every morning is suggested as a remedy. Could be a short walk first thing, a run, or even some stretching for 15 minutes. The article is linked to my name.
posted by Dawn on 1-5-2009 at 5:17 am
This is great. But I hardly nap anymore =( I work baker’s hours, and probably should nap, but go for walks instead so I’ll be tired enough to go to bed at 9pm. But maybe I’ll try this on the day before my days off.
posted by Jenni on 1-30-2009 at 7:59 pm