Hi ladies! It is, has been, and will be midterms for all y’all so nothing is nearer and dearer to our heart right now than napping. We are up all night studying for our big midterms while trying to do work for all of our other classes and we lose out on a lot of sleep. The remedy to our problem is that well-deserved nap to restore our energy reserves. But there are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to taking a perfect nap.
10-20 Minutes: This is the ideal power nap. You will be more alert and energized afterwards. You have uninterrupted light sleep. This is a perfect nap to sneak in while studying to make you refreshed and engaged with whatever you are trying to learn. It is great because it is so short that it maximizes your time use.
Coffee Nap (15-20 Minutes): Let’s just combine our two favorite things together! Have a napuccino! In this nap you drink a cup of coffee (or another caffeinated beverage) and take a short 15-20 minute nap. The nap is just long enough for the caffeine to kick in. It is a win-win, you get the added alertness from coffee to the natural alertness you get after a power nap!
NASA nap (26 Minutes): NASA had multiple scientists try to figure out the ideal nap time, there answer: 26 minutes. The researchers said that it “improved performance 34% and alertness 54%”. Try it out for yourselves and see!
30 Minutes: DON’T TAKE A THIRTY MINUTE NAP. You’d think this would be a good amount of time but it isn’t. It will cause sleep inertia and you will feel groggy and tired for a fair amount of time afterwards. It is easy for us to assume that a nap is a nap and just the fact that you got some sleep will help you. This is true, but it isn’t time effective for you to take a thirty minute nap and be groggy and unwilling to work for another thirty. You might as well have slept for an hour.
45 Minutes: This time length has been shown to help sensory processing and creative thinking.
60 Minutes: This is better than taking a 30 minute nap, but not by much. You will still be sleepy after but it has been shown to improve memory for facts.
90 Minutes: This is the most restorative nap. You get one full cycle of sleep. Getting a REM cycle in to your nap will make all the difference. You will feel as if you have gotten a good night’s sleep. You will have no grogginess and be raring to go!
There you have it collegiettes! The art of napping! If you don’t want to disrupt your night’s sleep it is best to take a nap around noon. But let’s be real, we take sleep when we can get it. No complaints. Happy napping!