Personal Development

The 5 Main Benefits of Napping

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Micronaps "“ Increasing your productivity

I have been practicing micronapping for years  now but didn't really  think it was unusual until a colleague mentioned it to me. I work a lot and get around 5 hours of sleep per night, and find that the micronaps really help to keep me going.

What is a micronap?

You may have already experienced a micronap without realising it. It's  those moments when you doze off for a few moments, 2-5 minutes, and wake up  with a start. It has happened to me in meetings, and I have woken up  with a start thinking "˜Christ!I hope nobody noticed me', meanwhile  somebody has posted a picture of me drooling, on the company intranet. You  know the moments I mean.

Micronapping is a scheduled event and everybody can do it no matter what their  schedule is.

How to micronap

When you feel you need a micronap just schedule 5 minutes away from everyone,  I usually go home for lunch so I micronap there, however when I can't  go home I use the toilet to take a micronap.

Sit on the toilet, lean back and just close your eyes safe in the knowledge  that if you fall asleep nobody will see you. The beauty of micronapping  is that your mind is still alert to the fact that you have only got 5 minutes  so it won't fall fully asleep. You will be drifting between consciousness  and unconsciousness (which is what sleep is).

It may sound as if this wouldn't help but it really does. What  is happening is that your brain is sinking to an alpha state, which is sleep  cycle where your brain is operating at 7-14 cycles per second, and coming back
to your waking beta state, which operates at 14-40 cycles per second. Read  more about the sleeping  states here

Alpha states are the states which meditators and people who are relaxed fall  into. It is the state in which creativity occurs and is the state in  which we typically daydream. It has a realxing effect on the brain and
slows it down to rest.

Benefits of micronapping

  1. I have found micronapping good for sleep deprived headaches, if I've  not had enough sleep I get a slight headache and micronapping is great for  this.
  2. I have found I am more alert after a micronap
  3. You can take as many as you need without really being missed, I usually  take about 2 per day.
  4. Micronapping allows me to get by on about 5 hours of sleeep without feeling  any detrimental effects.
  5. It can be done almost anywhere, in the car, in the toilet, in the house,  any room that you will not be disturbed for 5 minutes or so.

Infographic on the Power of Napping

Infographic from Patio Productions

Napping-Infographic-Large

More information

How to Powernap for all day energy – MensJournal.com

Napping Benefits and Tips – SleepFoundation.org

Power Napping Really is Good for You – DailyMail.co.uk

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About the author

Steven Aitchison

Steven Aitchison is the author of The Belief Principle and an online trainer teaching personal development and online business.  He is also the creator of this blog which has been running since August 2006.

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