Tips for Taking Power Naps and Why You Should Try It

If you feel like you’re lagging every afternoon, then try these tips for taking power naps.

Do you get that mid-afternoon slump and worry that you won’t be able to get that second wind of energy? Maybe you are a stay at home mom who feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything done or a professional who is over-booked and over-worked. Whoever you are, you can and should take a power nap in order to regain some focus and mental clarity. Let’s look at some tips for taking power naps and why you should try it.

Tips for Taking Power Naps and Why You Should Try It

Before I dive into tips for taking power naps, let’s look at how a power nap can help you and what a power nap is. A power nap is a nap that is taken in the early part of the afternoon such as right around lunch or up to 3 pm. It lasts for 15-30 minutes depending on the person and how quickly they fall into deep sleep. You don’t want to take one any longer than necessary because you can actually make yourself more tired this way and have a hard time recovering from the grogginess.

A power nap can help you with mental clarity and focus. When we are tired, our brains don’t function at optimal speed. Allowing our brains a break can be just enough to recharge it and carry on with the tasks at hand. This may be why medical students have sleeping rooms at the hospitals they work at!

Power naps also help reduce stress. Napping naturally lowers our blood pressure and this helps with anxiety and stress-related health problems in the long run.

Tips for Taking a Good Power Nap

A good power nap is not sleeping – a power nap shouldn’t let you enter into that deep sleep we all go into called REM. If you do, you will find that you will wake up disorientated. Instead of laying down for a nap with no timer set, try to actually set an alarm to wake you before you get too deep into sleep. Just resting will help even if you don’t actually sleep.

Find a safe and comfortable place to nap if you do it at work – Many people find that using a bit of their employee break or lunch hour to take a power nap on days where you are extra tired can really help their productivity in the afternoon. If your place of employment doesn’t have a room for rest, try taking a nap in your car. First, make sure your doors are locked and a coworker knows where you are. Then, take a quick nap in your vehicle. Keep items for power naps in your car like eye masks or even a travel pillow.

Drink coffee or another caffeinated drink right before your nap – If you want an extra burst of afternoon energy, try drinking a caffeinated drink right before you take a power nap. Caffeine takes around 15-20 minute to take effect, so it will be kicking in as you wake up.