tagged w/ Naps
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If you see a student dozing in the library or a co-worker catching 40 winks in her cubicle, don't roll your eyes. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, shows that an hour’s nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power. Indeed, the findings suggest that a biphasic sleep schedule not only refreshes the mind, but can make you smarter.
Conversely, the more hours we spend awake, the more sluggish our minds become, according to the findings. The results support previous data from the same research team that pulling an all-nighter — a common practice at college during midterms and finals — decreases the ability to cram in new facts by nearly 40 percent, due to a shutdown of brain regions during sleep deprivation.
"Sleep not only rights the wrong of prolonged wakefulness but, at a neurocognitive level, it moves you beyond where you were before you took a nap," said Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the lead investigator of these studies.
In the recent UC Berkeley sleep study, 39 healthy young adults were divided into two groups — nap and no-nap. At noon, all the participants were subjected to a rigorous learning task intended to tax the hippocampus, a region of the brain that helps store fact-based memories. Both groups performed at comparable levels.
At 2 p.m., the nap group took a 90-minute siesta while the no-nap group stayed awake. Later that day, at 6 p.m., participants performed a new round of learning exercises. Those who remained awake throughout the day became worse at learning. In contrast, those who napped did markedly better and actually improved in their capacity to learn.If you see a student dozing in the library or a co-worker catching 40 winks in her... more
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Do you ever wish you took advantage of those naps as a little kid? Our lives now are extremely busy and exhausting; we are sleep deprived, and we can’t seem to find a minute to just relax. I know as a college student I am constantly trying to cram in just a 20 minute nap hoping to have more energy when I wake up, and according to new research, these afternoon naps I try and fit into my daily schedule actually are quite beneficial. A new study found “that young adults who slept for 90 minutes after lunch raised their learning power, [and] their memory apparently primed to absorb new facts,” reports Roni Caryn Rabin from The New York Times.Do you ever wish you took advantage of those naps as a little kid? Our lives now are... more
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Count Sheep. Spell the alphabet backwards. Eat cheese before bed. Any of these old wives tales sound familiar? If you’re an insomniac you’ll understand the following blog. It’s all about the hellish trials and tribulations of not being able to get a decent night’s shut-eye. It’s a humorous take on the matter, but the blogger is really distressed! Is it her mattress, her pillows!? A very tongue and cheek entry, she writes the blog entry during one of her insomniatic episodes.
Blogger has an amazingly eclectic site with everything from beauty, fashion, diary style entries, poetry, life in the magazine world----this girl has everything. Already winner of the prestigious “Blog Of The Day Award” (some people take years to earn this—she’s only had her blog up 3 weeks!) and on top level blog rolls of awesome bloggers, this girl is amazing. A+++++Count Sheep. Spell the alphabet backwards. Eat cheese before bed. Any of these old... more
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jrn
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added this
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2 years ago
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Research has shown that taking regular lunchtime naps could increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.Research has shown that taking regular lunchtime naps could increase the risk of... more
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ClareW
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added this
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3 years ago
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Half the world does it, so why can't we take a mid-afternoon nap when we feel like it?
You know the feeling. It's mid-afternoon; you partied hard last night, your screen is moving in and out of focus and you're so sleepy you risk waking up in a pool of drool with QWERTYUIOP imprinted on your forehead.
You'd kill for a few minutes' sleep, but instead you reach for your third can of Red Bull or start sticking paperclips in your thighs just to stay awake.
But what's so wrong about succumbing to that universal urge to grab a quick sleep in the middle of the day?
Nothing at all, according to growing evidence that shows a quick nap is just what you need to shake off that drowsy afternoon deadspot.
No longer just the preserve of old-aged pensioners and grumpy toddlers, scientists are finding the old-fashioned nap can be a boon to productivity.
Professor Leon Lack, of Flinders University, is an expert on the fine art of the workplace siesta.
"There is a lot of evidence that a brief sleep can be beneficial," Lack says. "There are quite a few people who regularly have a brief nap and report that they do feel rejuvenated and that the sleepiness cloud that was hanging over them has been lifted."
Lack and his team have put a lot of effort into figuring out just how much shut-eye is required for the optimum effect. "We tested naps of just one minute, five minutes, 10 minutes and 20 and 30 minutes," he says. "What we found is that one minute of sleep seemed to produce no benefit whatsoever. Five minutes of sleep seemed to produce benefits for some people but not very dramatic ones. However, 10 minutes of sleep seemed to produce significant improvements in virtually all the measures we had."
People in Lack's experiments reported subjective benefits - they felt a lot better - and also performed set tasks much more accurately for up to three hours after their snooze. However, those that were allowed to doze for longer - up to 30 minutes - reported feeling groggy and tired for up to an hour after waking.
The magic 10-minute time length also means you don't fall into a deep sleep, which can make it difficult to drift off at bedtime.
None of this comes as news to Massachusetts-based Camille Anthony, president of the Napping Company and lifelong napping evangelist. She and husband Bill have co-authored two books on the art of the mid-afternoon kip and together founded the Napping Company (motto: "It's time for nappers to lie down and be counted") to promote the concept among American companies.
"When you're tired you can't think clearly, you're not creative, you're ornery, you're not able to deal with people well and you have very little patience," Anthony says. "A nap enhances your mood, improves your creativity and increases productivity. Napping is a wonderful thing for the body."
Anthony even calls on the Bible to support her napping crusade. "As the Bible says, 'on the seventh day ... God rested'," she writes. "Even God naps! I suspect that in earlier translations of the Bible the text read that 'on the seventh day God nappeth'."
"And God is not the only famous napper. Brahms napped at the piano while he composed his famous lullaby. Napoleon napped between battles. Churchill maintained that he had to nap in order to cope with his wartime responsibilities. Geniuses such as Edison and Da Vinci napped."
(more at link)Half the world does it, so why can't we take a mid-afternoon nap when we feel... more
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Boston Globe article advocating the refreshing power of a mid-afternoon nap.
Wonder if anyone would mind if I scheduled time in the conference room each day for a lovely nap...Boston Globe article advocating the refreshing power of a mid-afternoon nap.
Wonder... more
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Here in the United States, many people consider eight hours an ideal amount of sleep — and most of them expect those eight hours to come in one block at night. But in Latin America, Mediterranean countries, and other parts of the world, the ideal slumber follows quite a different pattern. In sunny climates, people like to retreat from the heat and stress of a busy day for an afternoon siesta, then make up the difference by staying up late at night.
Cultural norms evolve to suit the needs and preferences of particular societies. But human biology is much the same in Athens and Chicago. Perhaps, then, a study of siestas in Greece will help Americans understand their own choices for healthful sleep. The study also raises the interesting possibility that a daily siesta may help ward off heart disease.
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I like to take naps in my car during my lunch hour. Here in the United States, many people consider eight hours an ideal amount of sleep... more
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