Health Benefits of Power Naps and Cat Naps

As Lefty, the store butcher, cat napped on a folding cot in a dark attic space behind us, my Dad and I kept our lunchtime chatter to a whisper in the break room of the grocery where he worked back in the 1960s-70s. Everyone accepted Lefty's 15 minutes of snoring. His workday began before sun-up with sharp knives and dangerous machines for splitting sides of beef. Maybe Lefty had it right in more ways than one.

Who Needs a Nap

Everyone needs a 15 to 20 minute nap now and then, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). It helps improve brain function, job performance, alertness, stamina, and mood. The NSF reported a National Aeronautical Administration (NASA) study on sleepy military pilots and astronauts, finding naps improved performance by over 30% and alertness by over 95%.

Napping is a normal part of daily sleep for about a third of people in the world. Because Americans are among the most sleep deprived, the National Sleep Foundation designates an annual National Sleep Awareness Week®, this year celebrated March 7-13, 2010 to promote improved health through proper sleep.

I think Lefty would agree his cat naps helped his job performance in the afternoon tremendously. As I recall, he retired from his career with all his fingers in-tact, during a time before butcher equipment had any safety devices on meat grinders or automatic bone saws. He's probably like the updated idea of calling them power naps, too!

Napping Tips

Find a sweet spot. Make sure you pick a quiet place where you can get 10 to 15 minutes of uninterrupted rest that is relatively quiet and at a comfortable temperature. Lefty found a dark little unused attic corner next to the employee break room. It worked for him. I keep a pillow and throw blanket in my truck and just put the seat flat, making sure to set my cell phone alarm. It works for me.

Don't' nap too late in day, or you will have trouble sleeping at night. It is important to aim for at least 7 hours of sleep each night, plus the 15 minutes or so of nap time. In fact, the American Heart Association says that if you get less than 6 hours of sleep each night you are nearly 5 times as likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes. Some adults need as much as 10 hours of sleep each night. There is no hard and fast rule, but less than 6 hours on a regular basis leads to trouble for most people in the long run.

Limit your nap time to between 15 and 30 minute maximum by either setting an alarm on your cell phone or by asking someone to wake you up.

The Rested, Powerful and (sometimes) Famous Nappers

People known to invent great things, lead entire countries, and more have benefited greatly from regular napping, such as: Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Bill Clinton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Dr. Andrew Weil, and my personal favorite Lefty Wright, the butcher. Yes, that really was his name.

Doctors prescribe napping to narcoleptics, who have medical issues causing them to have sleep attacks at odd and inconvenient times.

Will you nap during National Sleep Awareness Week, March 7-13, 2010? If so, what is your favorite nap plan?

Sources

sleepfoundation.org
americanheart.org
worldmysteries9.blogspot.com
author personal knowledge