Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] What's worthwhile considering what we consume, believe, say and do towards peace of mind, vitality of body, and joy of spirit? I'm Ramsey Zimmerman. Here's some more healthy living, motivation and discussion.
[00:00:30] Hey there, it's Ramsay here. Now, I know that this will be a controversial episode, but I need to advocate strongly on this one. I am a fan, supporter and a booster of power naps. I've got them dialed in 28 minutes. No more, no less, 28 minutes on the timer. I have arrived at this number through years of rigorous experimentation involving my bed, the alarm on my phone, and absolutely no scientific controls whatsoever. But recently, someone asked me a question that required me to defend my position. Are power naps actually good for you? And that sent me looking into what is really happening during those 28 minutes.
[00:01:20] I love afternoon naps. There, I said it. I don't actually take one every day, but I don't know. Maybe three times a week.
[00:01:28] Always sometime in the early afternoon after lunch, I often feel my energy and focus beginning to fade. If my schedule allows it, I'll lie down, set the timer on my phone for 28 minutes, close my eyes, and check out for a little while.
[00:01:44] Most of the time, I wake up feeling remarkably better in terms of the timing. If I nap more than half an hour, I wake up groggy and riddled with guilt over lost productive time.
[00:01:56] Some days I don't have a full 28 minutes, so I'll just close my eyes for 15 or 20. But usually I don't feel like I actually fell asleep. The other day, one of my clients asked me what I thought about power naps.
[00:02:08] Specifically, he asked me how long they should be and if they were effective. In the middle of the day, I knew what worked for me, but then I was curious what works for other people, So I looked into it. For people on a typical daytime schedule, research generally supports the usefulness of brief daytime naps. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends a brief nap of less than about 20 minutes of actual sleep for daytime workers.
[00:02:39] They say short naps can improve alertness for a couple of hours afterwards, generally with less risk of the grogginess that can accompany longer naps.
[00:02:49] That grogginess has a name, sleep inertia. As we sleep, we move through different stages.
[00:02:56] As sleep becomes deeper, waking up can become more difficult. If we wake from deeper sleep, our thinking and reaction time can temporarily be impaired.
[00:03:07] We may feel disoriented and sluggish while our brain makes the transition back into wakefulness.
[00:03:15] That is one reason short naps can work so well. You're trying to get enough actual sleep to receive some of its restorative benefits without getting so deeply asleep that waking up becomes its own project.
[00:03:27] Which brings me Back to my 28 minutes. The experts say 15 to 20 minutes. Obviously I know that I'm right, so there must be an explanation. Ah, got probably takes me 5 or 10 minutes to actually fall asleep.
[00:03:44] The 28 minutes on the timer accounts for this. I do actually know what I'm doing. There's also a reason that early afternoon is such a natural time for me to want that nap.
[00:03:55] We sometimes blame afternoon sleepiness entirely on lunch. Eat too much, blood sugar rises and then falls and suddenly we want to melt into our chairs. Food absolutely does affect our energy. What and how much we eat matters. But there's something else going on too.
[00:04:13] Part of our circadian rhythm includes a natural decrease in alertness during the afternoon.
[00:04:20] In other words, maybe I get sleepy in the afternoon because I ate lunch, and sometimes I get sleepy in the afternoon because it is in the afternoon.
[00:04:29] That distinction matters to me because I've spent a lot of time thinking about what to eat, what order to eat it in, and how much to eat.
[00:04:38] But here I'm learning that the afternoon slump is just part of the expected schedule. I also obsess about coffee and about how caffeine works on our bodies.
[00:04:49] The longer we're awake, the greater our pressure for sleep becomes. A chemical called adenosine is involved in that process.
[00:04:57] When adenosine builds up, it contributes to that growing feeling of sleepiness.
[00:05:02] Caffeine affects adenosine signaling. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors and temporarily makes it harder for those sleepiness signals to get through.
[00:05:15] We all feel it. The pressure to perform. Keep up, move faster, all while staying present and connecting with our loved ones. It's a lot, I know. So join me live weekly on Zoom Tuesdays at noon Pacific time for sessions of better before burnout. Waking, eating, moving and sleeping to beat stress and bring vitality. These sessions are interactive and customized. Each time I go through the foundations of establishing vitality that carry you through your days and calm your sleep through your nights. I also focus in on particular practical strategies. Learn more and register online by visiting what's worthwhile.net better don't forget to use coupon code blast off for one free session.
[00:06:07] Which brings me to something I learned today.
[00:06:10] Coffee napping. Yes, apparently that is a thing. It is also affectionately called having a napachino the basic idea is surprisingly simple.
[00:06:23] Instead of taking a short nap and then drinking your coffee afterward, you pound a coffee immediately before the nap.
[00:06:30] Then you lie down and take a short nap around 20 minutes. You see, caffeine does not act instantaneously. It takes some time. So the idea is to get a bit of actual sleep while the caffeine is kicking in. Then you wake up when the caffeine is exerting more of its effects. You get the benefit of the short nap and the caffeine all in one. A cute little combo, a napuccino. And when I learned this, I suddenly remembered something a few times. I've decided to power through my afternoon with no nap. So started drinking my coffee. But then I started getting sleepy, maybe halfway through the cup. Oh, I thought that was a fail. I relented, set the timer and hit the pillow. But something interesting happened. I woke up before my alarm and I felt good.
[00:07:21] Basically, I had a nappuccino before knowing there was such a thing. And there is actually some research behind this. Combining caffeine with a short nap has been studied as a way to improve alertness and reduce some of the grogginess that can follow sleep. I suppose I am duty bound to offer some disclaimers. First, a power nap is not a substitute for adequate nighttime sleep. If you are chronically exhausted because you are not getting enough good sleep at night, 20 minutes on the couch is not going to fix that.
[00:07:53] Also, caffeine lasts a long time in the body, so timing matters. A coffee nap early in the afternoon is very different from drinking coffee and going to sleep at 5 o', clock, especially if you want to sleep again that night.
[00:08:07] So I think I'll probably lean into those coffee naps more often.
[00:08:11] It worked great today, by the way. Here's the thing. Rest is not the opposite of productivity.
[00:08:19] Sometimes the productive thing is to recognize that our energy naturally rises and falls, listen to what our bodies are telling us, and respond intelligently instead of simply demanding more.
[00:08:32] We need good nighttime sleep. We need good nutrition. We need movement. We need to manage stress. There is no 20 or 28 minute trick that replaces those foundations.
[00:08:45] But on an ordinary afternoon, when my eyes are getting heavy and my brain is beginning to wander, I love a good nap and a good cup of coffee. But apparently I should drink the coffee first.
[00:08:59] And for today, that is enough.
[00:09:03] Ready for more? Visit whatsworthwhile.net to listen to podcast episodes. Master your response to stress by reading my book, Stress Response, available through Amazon or to get better before burnout sets in by requesting the free guide. Regardless of where you are in your journey, I'd love to hear from you and talk about how we might move forward together. Please contact me, Ramsey Zimmerman through the website or on social media like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or X. Thanks, Ra.
