Marcus De Guingand asked:
Humans are naturally biphasic – meaning that we are programmed to have two periods of rest during a 24-hour period, a long rest at night and a shorter rest during the day. Our natural circadian rhythm produces a period of roughly 2 hours in the early afternoon where our body temperature drops leaving us feeling drowsy. Contrary to popular belief this is independent of lunch, albeit a particularly heavy or alcoholic lunch can amplify the drowsiness.
If we hark back to the pre-industrialisation era we can recall the paintings of a worker sat under a tree with his hat over his head taking a brief nap. As explained above this is what we are naturally programmed to do. However, as the factories began to work around the clock and we were paid by the hour, rather than by the task the day time nap quickly became extinct.
The fact is that napping during the day can lead to significant performance and health benefits. Napping has been scientifically proven to increase energy, alertness, productivity and creativity. It can also help improve mood, reduce stress and address other health issues such as obesity, hormonal maintenance and heart functioning.
A study by NASA on pilots found that they were 100% more alert and performed tasks 34% better (in the final stages of the flight) after a brief mid-flight nap than those who did not nap. Research last year by Harvard and Athens Universities examined the habits of 23,000 subjects in Greece. It concluded that amongst working men those who napped regularly were 64% less likely to die of heart disease, even after other factors such as diet, exercise and smoking had been eliminated from the equation. Naps help you to perform better and live longer.
There have also been some other interesting findings in recent times in terms of napping and performance enhancement. A study by Dr Sara Mednick (author of Take a Nap Change Your Life) during her time at Harvard showed that over the course of a day (between 9am and 7pm) our performance deteriorates by up to 52%. However, she found that a brief nap during the middle of the day halted the performance decline for the rest of the day.
City University in New York undertook a study allowing one group to relax in the middle of the day by reading or watching TV and the other group to take a nap. 6 hours after the break the nappers performed 15% better than the no nap group in a memory test.
A study printed in the Annals of Emergency Medicine back in 2006 also compared performance of ER residents and nurses on night shift. Those who napped (at 3am) made 24% fewer errors at 7:30am and were 23% quicker in completing a simulated intravenous insertion. Interestingly a mood profile test showed that mood amongst the nappers was 86% greater and they were 29% less fatigued.
At the moment most employees reach for caffeine, sugary snacks / drinks or high-carbohydrate foods. How many of us look forward to our daily chocolate fix. The simple issue here is that whilst we experience a short-term boost in alertness this is soon met with an equal and opposite dip in alertness and performance.
Further research by Mednick split subject into 3 groups a nap group, a caffeine group and a placebo group. In subsequent tests the caffeine drinkers performed significantly worse than the placebo group with the best performance achieved by the napping group. So whilst bosses are happy for staff to pop out for 15 to 20 minutes to the coffee shop down the road the reality is the boost from a coffee is minimal and short-lived.
A 15 to 20 minute nap will improve energy, performance, motor skills, result in fewer errors, lower heart rate, improve speech, abstract reasoning, planning, problem solving, learning and creativity. Napping is not toxic or harmful – could this be the reason why we choose to avoid napping – it’s not dangerous. What is more the increased energy boost can last for up to 8 hours so not only will you be able to achieve more at work, leave earlier, be more alert whilst driving home but you will also have more energy for your domestic / family life.
History is littered with famous high achievers who were avid nappers including: Einstein, Edison, Napoleon, Brahms, Dali, Da Vinvi as well as more recently Thatcher, Clinton and MacArthur (to name but a few). However I shall leave you with a quote from one of the most famous high-achieving nappers, a certain Winston Churchill who said, “Don’t think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That is a foolish notion held by people with no imagination. You will be able to accomplish more.” There again how can we expect to be imaginative when we are all over-worked, stressed and sleep deprived!
adrenal fatigue symptoms
Humans are naturally biphasic – meaning that we are programmed to have two periods of rest during a 24-hour period, a long rest at night and a shorter rest during the day. Our natural circadian rhythm produces a period of roughly 2 hours in the early afternoon where our body temperature drops leaving us feeling drowsy. Contrary to popular belief this is independent of lunch, albeit a particularly heavy or alcoholic lunch can amplify the drowsiness.
If we hark back to the pre-industrialisation era we can recall the paintings of a worker sat under a tree with his hat over his head taking a brief nap. As explained above this is what we are naturally programmed to do. However, as the factories began to work around the clock and we were paid by the hour, rather than by the task the day time nap quickly became extinct.
The fact is that napping during the day can lead to significant performance and health benefits. Napping has been scientifically proven to increase energy, alertness, productivity and creativity. It can also help improve mood, reduce stress and address other health issues such as obesity, hormonal maintenance and heart functioning.
A study by NASA on pilots found that they were 100% more alert and performed tasks 34% better (in the final stages of the flight) after a brief mid-flight nap than those who did not nap. Research last year by Harvard and Athens Universities examined the habits of 23,000 subjects in Greece. It concluded that amongst working men those who napped regularly were 64% less likely to die of heart disease, even after other factors such as diet, exercise and smoking had been eliminated from the equation. Naps help you to perform better and live longer.
There have also been some other interesting findings in recent times in terms of napping and performance enhancement. A study by Dr Sara Mednick (author of Take a Nap Change Your Life) during her time at Harvard showed that over the course of a day (between 9am and 7pm) our performance deteriorates by up to 52%. However, she found that a brief nap during the middle of the day halted the performance decline for the rest of the day.
City University in New York undertook a study allowing one group to relax in the middle of the day by reading or watching TV and the other group to take a nap. 6 hours after the break the nappers performed 15% better than the no nap group in a memory test.
A study printed in the Annals of Emergency Medicine back in 2006 also compared performance of ER residents and nurses on night shift. Those who napped (at 3am) made 24% fewer errors at 7:30am and were 23% quicker in completing a simulated intravenous insertion. Interestingly a mood profile test showed that mood amongst the nappers was 86% greater and they were 29% less fatigued.
At the moment most employees reach for caffeine, sugary snacks / drinks or high-carbohydrate foods. How many of us look forward to our daily chocolate fix. The simple issue here is that whilst we experience a short-term boost in alertness this is soon met with an equal and opposite dip in alertness and performance.
Further research by Mednick split subject into 3 groups a nap group, a caffeine group and a placebo group. In subsequent tests the caffeine drinkers performed significantly worse than the placebo group with the best performance achieved by the napping group. So whilst bosses are happy for staff to pop out for 15 to 20 minutes to the coffee shop down the road the reality is the boost from a coffee is minimal and short-lived.
A 15 to 20 minute nap will improve energy, performance, motor skills, result in fewer errors, lower heart rate, improve speech, abstract reasoning, planning, problem solving, learning and creativity. Napping is not toxic or harmful – could this be the reason why we choose to avoid napping – it’s not dangerous. What is more the increased energy boost can last for up to 8 hours so not only will you be able to achieve more at work, leave earlier, be more alert whilst driving home but you will also have more energy for your domestic / family life.
History is littered with famous high achievers who were avid nappers including: Einstein, Edison, Napoleon, Brahms, Dali, Da Vinvi as well as more recently Thatcher, Clinton and MacArthur (to name but a few). However I shall leave you with a quote from one of the most famous high-achieving nappers, a certain Winston Churchill who said, “Don’t think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That is a foolish notion held by people with no imagination. You will be able to accomplish more.” There again how can we expect to be imaginative when we are all over-worked, stressed and sleep deprived!
adrenal fatigue symptoms