The magical land of Kindergarten

Let us enumerate the ways in which Kindergarten is superior in all ways to “real life”. Resources are plentiful, sharing is strictly enforced, snacks are provided, things run on time, your driver even buckles your seat belt for you, and there’s nap time. Unfortunately, they won’t let us go back.

You work hard for the money

Americans work the most in the world¹, are sleeping less², and don’t even take our meager allotment of vacation days³. All that work and our quality of life isn’t even in the top ten of social progress⁴. How do we keep running? In a word, Caffeine.

It gives you heart palpitations

Guess what is a Multi-Billion Dollar⁵ industry… Energy Drinks. When people feel tired in North America it is common to alleviate that feeling with caffeine. Caffeine is so common that Seventy-seven percent of U.S. adults drink coffee daily.⁶ Given the culture around caffeine it’s easy to think that caffeine is always safe and there are no serious downsides and just go grab your next 330mg hit from the local coffee chain.

There are downsides though; High caffeine use has been linked to anxiety and depression⁷, poor decision making⁸, and even Caffeine Induced Sleep Disorder⁹. Yup, that’s a sleep disorder with caffeine in the name. The real kicker is that while people might feel more alert, increases in performance and mood may not even exist.¹⁰

Why are energy drinks so popular? I think 5-Hour Energy explains it best.

It’s not exactly an earth shattering realization that people are tired in the mid-afternoon. This is simply a function of a normal circadian rhythm¹¹.

Are you a mammal?

85% of all mammal species take naps according to the National Sleep Foundation. While we are mammals there is some debate as to whether or not humans are naturally polyphasic (many sleeps), monophasic (one big sleep), or biphasic (two sleeps) and under what conditions¹². Monophasic sleep does occur in other species and exclusively in primates¹³.

Regardless of whether or not we are or are not built to be monophasic sleepers you already learned in kindergarten how to beat the afternoon slump and improve your day; Napping improves cognitive performance¹⁴ and alertness¹⁵. Even if you don’t fall asleep just taking the time out and resting will improve your mood¹⁶. Naps increase performance in memory related tasks even better than caffeine and placebo’s¹⁷.

A number of cultures have afternoon naps built in. The most commonly cited being the siesta¹⁸ practiced in spain and many latin american countries but, there is even a napping culture in Japan¹⁹. Google is buying their employees nap pods²⁰ so if Google Engineers are doing it it must be smart, right?

While cultural attitudes about napping especially “on the job” vary²¹. If you’re not running a nuclear power plant or driving a bus, your work environment’s attitude towards napping may be based on economic factors and not logistic factors. While 34% of Americans report having taken a nap in the past 24 hours, most of them are poor, wealthy, elderly, or minors²². Those in the middle reported less napping despite continuing to be human.

The benefits are not only mental but, physical as well. Afternoon napping has benefits for cardiac health as well²³. Naps are even beneficial if you’re looking for an edge in motor skills and reaction times²⁴ in an evening activity.

There are different parameters for different naps. A siesta can be 2 hours including eating and napping, to a power nap where you may not even need to leave your chair and simply nod off for a few minutes. For now we’re concerned with a restive nap that you can take to have a more effective and enjoyable afternoon. There are a few things to keep in mind while designing an afternoon nap

Duration

Short. Different nap durations will have different effects²⁵. I personally like 20 minutes. A person takes on average 5 minutes to fall asleep. 7-10 minutes is sufficient to dramatically increase alertness and cognitive functioning and we throw in an extra 5 or so minutes on for buffer. You can go longer if you like but, sleep inertia²⁶ due to entering slow wave sleep starts to occur after approximately 30 minutes so you’ll want to stop before then unless you have time for a full 90 minute sleep cycle²⁷ otherwise you may feel groggy rather than refreshed on waking.

Light

Sleep mask. Get a quality one. That is all. I don’t have any napping specific research on ambient light but, there is a great deal of research suggesting that increased ambient light makes falling asleep harder.

Timing

There will be a time in the mid to early afternoon where you will feel at your lowest. This is obviously the best time to take a nap. Here’s a handy calculator to get you started.²⁸ That being said it is just a place to start. Circadian rhythm varies from person to person²⁹ so only observation will allow you to find the best time to nap.

Stimulants

Depending on the individual the half-life of caffeine is 5-7 hours for a healthy adult. Despite what I said about the abuse of caffeine as a national pastime above if you’re going to partake it may be best to do so right before you take your nap and not for the time leading up to it. The caffeine will start to hit your system after approx 10 minutes and will take full effect in 45³⁰ right about the time you’re getting back to work if taking a 30 minute nap.

Take a nap, feel better, perform better, and remember to share the crayons