What You Need to Know About Power Naps

Remember when you first heard the term power nap?   At first makes you think you are "extreme napping" (napping while bungee jumping, I suppose).  But actually, they are just the same "afternoon naps" we grew up with and have never quite grown out of.  We are a species that needs a brief afternoon nap of no more than a half hour long, or else we get tired, cranky and stressed out.  A nap can help you relax and recharge.  Here are some tips about using power naps for stress management and for overall health.



Where Can You Find The Time?

Granted, there are going to be jobs where you are just not going to be able to take a time-out.  If you work part-time of five hours a day or less, you should be able to get by without a power nap for stress management.  But if you work seven or more hours per shift, then you can look into when would be an appropriate time to power nap.  If you work the overnight shift, then a power nap will most likely be done at two in the morning than two in the afternoon.

Power naps were designed with cubicle workers in mind, where putting your head down on your desk for fifteen minutes a day is not going to cause all that much of a fuss.  Take a good look at your average work shift and see where a nap could fit in.  If you can only take five, then just take five.  Power napping for stress management should not to add any more stress to your job.

You Don’t Have To Sleep

If you are like me at all, then you will not be able to actually fall asleep in your work place.  Getting a dose of REM sleep is not really the goal of taking power naps.  Getting a chance to relax and regroup is. 

When I took cat naps at my last retail job, I did them in the break room and just shut my eyes and stayed still for five minutes.  Sometimes, especially around Christmas, I could only do this on the toilet.  It was great just to relax.  I could then go through the rest of my shift with better concentration and less chance of going into a panic attack.

More Hints

If you are the type of person who can fall asleep anywhere, use an alarm to get you back awake.  What some people do is nap in a chair holding a pencil or pen in one hand.  When their hand muscles relax and the pencil drops, the noise wakes them up.  And that’s all the nap they need.  Try to nap at the same time every day, so your body gets used to the idea.

Hope this helps.

Power nap image by Lepiedia for Wikimedia Commons.