I came across something interesting this past week. My friend claims that he is able to "power nap" for 10-15 minutes that is equivalent to something crazy like 6 hours of sleep. Curiously, I found out that there were such incidents of these "powe naps" or "catnaps". Here's something wiki has to say about it:
A power nap (sometimes called a catnap) is a short nap, usually 15-20 minutes, coined by Cornell University social psychologist James Maas. It is thought by many to maximize the benefits of sleep versus time. This type of sleep pattern may be associated with polyphasic sleep; however, it is more often used to supplement normal sleep, especially when the sleeper has accumulated a sleep deficit.
Advocates of this sleep pattern recommend various durations for a power nap. Many have a precise time which they say is optimal—usually around 20-35 minutes. People who regularly take power naps usually have a good idea of what duration works best for them. Some people take power naps out of necessity. For example, someone who doesn't get enough sleep at night and is drowsy at work may sleep during his or her lunch break. Others may prefer to regularly take power naps even if their schedule allows a full night's sleep. Importantly, napping skills are trainable and have been shown to become more efficient in more experienced nappers.
The short duration of a power nap prevents nappers from entering Slow-wave sleep. Waking up after a person has entered this deeper state of sleep can result in a phenomenon known as sleep inertia, perhaps causing the person to feel groggy. Research has shown, however, that splashing water on one's face, brief exercise or a shot of caffeine can help decrease the ill effects of sleep inertia.
Does anyone else think this is crazy? I'm sure some of you already knew about this at least to a certain degree, but this kind of skill would be amazing to have, especially on this last week of school with finals. Of course, I'm sure there's a negative side to this.
For those of you who are curious, I found a couple sites with some information about this topic
Hmm, my main question here then is, is it possible to substitute regular sleep at night with these power naps? If so, is it possible to continue for about a week?
On April 23 2007 19:19 ilovezil wrote: Hmm, my main question here then is, is it possible to substitute regular sleep at night with these power naps? If so, is it possible to continue for about a week?
On April 23 2007 19:19 ilovezil wrote: Hmm, my main question here then is, is it possible to substitute regular sleep at night with these power naps? If so, is it possible to continue for about a week?
My old power nap was a solid 70 minutes. Worked like a charm. Here's my quick, four step program to a solid nap gaurunteed to keep you fresh for the whole day (assuming a decent nights rest)
1) Find a seat in the back of Calc 1 2) Fold arms infront of you, bent 90° at the elbow, left arm over right. 3) Rest head in crook of left elbow and sleep. 4) Wake 5 minutes before end of class (this becomes easier the more you do it)
On April 23 2007 19:19 ilovezil wrote: Hmm, my main question here then is, is it possible to substitute regular sleep at night with these power naps? If so, is it possible to continue for about a week?
On April 23 2007 19:26 IdrA wrote: what makes it a 'power' nap? just the duration?
Yes, if I'm right, it's a usual range of 10 - 30 minutes of sleep that would give you the equivalent of 6-8 hours(?) of sleep. I think it must include your usual night sleep, though which I for some reason thought it wasn't necessary because of the whole "6 hours rest" thing.
EDIT: Sonuvbob, I made a typo, look up to that post again ^_^
When you're really tired, any time you spend sleeping is very therapeutic since you go straight to REM sleep. This is nothing new to me. Just because Cornell University gives it a catchy name doesn't mean it's somehow amazing.
I had been doin that for 3 years now, since senior year in high school where a guy in the tennis team taught me this, it works for me great! It get you through the day but it still does not take away a good nite rest.
A friend of mine tried to do that sleep cycle thing one summer. He tried to set up his sleep schedule so he'd take like 6 20 minute naps each day, claiming that your body eventually gets used to it and will start to go straight into REM sleep immediately after falling asleep.
It failed miserably, and he spent about 3 weeks in a fuckin' awful mood bitching at everyone.
ever since going to college, i've really come to appreciate power napping. for me, 30-40 minute naps are amazing. if i were lacking sleep the night before, i would wake up feeling quite quite refreshed. on the other hand, sleeping for 60-90 minutes makes me feel groggy when i wake up (sleep inertia)
i've also found that going for a 10-15 "nap" is quite helpful as well, though I wouldn't really call it a nap, because sometimes I hear the alarm while I'm in a half thinking/half dreaming state. The only difference is that the effects of the "nap" last for a much shorter duration, say 1.5-2.5 hours than the normal power nap.
put a pillow on ur desk instead of using ur arms helps a great deal. also for me if i sleep on bed i can never get a nap since i can nvr get up after 1/2 hours, bed is just too comfy to leave.
I do it all the time. I can fall asleep anywhere any time. Even if I am fully awake. Just give me some boredom and I'll go right to submission :D Yeah it really refreshes you. For me it isn't as crazy as zomg 5 + hours of sleep gained, not completely. But for the following 2 hours at least you can remain quite active with out being drowsy. I normally nap for 15 minutes intervals, but it is crusial that you actually fall asleep, as in going into REM. If you do not fully fall asleep you will not feel refreshed. Even if you fell asleep for just precious 2 minutes it is well worth a 10 minutes nap.
Ah, I had an experience like this. I didn't sleep at night the day I was going back home, so I was in my cousins car and I dozed off during the ride. I wake up and felt amazingly AWAKE so I was like how long was I sleeping? He said only about 15-20 minutes. So, I guess I have experienced this first hand aye? =D
The difficult part is actually falling asleep, since you might lie there for like 30 minutes trying to fall asleep.
Powersleeping is just sleeping for 20minutes, set your alarm clock. you will wake up very tired, but don't let it get to you. Go dump your head in ice water. And you will be completely refreshed.
i often set alarm 30/20min before i need to wake up and then set the alarm again to like 1-2min before i have to wake up, or not set alarm at all, those precious 20+ minutes seem to last longer than the previous 5+ hours of sleep.
I rarely get more than 4 hours of sleep on any given night and almost always make time once or twice in the day to sleep for about 20-30 minutes. I am rarely tired at any time during the day and rather like my sleeping schedule, I've been on it for about 3 years now.
I don't know how any of you guys take these powernaps, but all I know is that I've tried and have never succeeded. If I have to nap, I need at least 2 hours , and that still does nothing for me, I guess due to 'sleep inertia'
On April 23 2007 21:12 uvaer wrote: I don't know how any of you guys take these powernaps, but all I know is that I've tried and have never succeeded. If I have to nap, I need at least 2 hours , and that still does nothing for me, I guess due to 'sleep inertia'
You are just not tired enough to use it haha... 2 hours of nap is healthy. I learned how to nap from being tired :p
After waking up from a nap, whenever im walking to my next class I cant seem to keep my eyes open so I blink a lot...I assume I look retarded when I do this -_-;; haha
At my old job I would power nap a lot. I would eat my lunch in the break room then just fall asleep for 15-20 minutes. I did it so often that people stopped thinking it was weird. It made a huge difference for me. I would feel WAY more refreshed afterwards. I only took a power nap when I had less than 5 hours of sleep, sometimes 6.
Usually in bus when I travel short distances(~20-30 minutes). I sit, and I feel tired then my eyes get more and more tired... I try not to fall asleep but eventually take a power nap for 2-5 minutes.
The feeling is like reboot yourself, your muscles and nerves get a fresh start you feel very relaxed and confortable (though the effect slowly runs out and eventally you will have to take a normal sleep).
On April 24 2007 01:49 LastWish wrote: Usually in bus when I travel short distances(~20-30 minutes). I sit, and I feel tired then my eyes get more and more tired... I try not to fall asleep but eventually take a power nap for 2-5 minutes.
The feeling is like reboot yourself, your muscles and nerves get a fresh start you feel very relaxed and confortable (though the effect slowly runs out and eventally you will have to take a normal sleep).
I usually get that a lot. I'm in University, my dad takes me there everyday at 6:30am or so, every time we go there's high traffic and I sleep for a bit. By the time we get to the University, I feel like I have rested more in those 20-30mins of sleep than in the whole night. ;o.
even when I went to high school, I would fall asleep in class for 30 minutes, wake up, feel groggy, walk to my next class and just fall asleep again, I would never feel refreshed..just more tired
i try to power nap to get some rest during all nighters.... but then i end up sleeping for like 6 hours and wake up 30 min before the exam. Happens every fukin time =/
Eco challenge races, where you have to walk for 300 km, bike for 200, cano/raft for 400 etc always have their participant teams live off powernaps for the duration of the race. All they do is sleep for 25 min / 60 min a day and continue. A well trained and conditioned body that has experience with this kind of depravation can restore itself in 30/45 min give or take. The part of you that needs major rebooting each day is your mental state/psyche.
Needless to say you will be physically exhausted after a week of that but mentally you'll be at less then 10% brain capacity and living/racing purely on training and instinct. Was really interesting to watch some info on that on the Discovery Channel.
Since recently I've been made it pretty much routine to do this pretty much daily in the comfy big backseat of my ol pontiac either during my breaks / or / lunch.. depends on how hungry i feel. I can't seem to fall asleep as easy on an empty stomach as i can on a full one
My friend who wants to be a professional pianist sleeps 2 hours during the daytime and practices the whole night. He still seems pretty healthy and alert. It's so weird.
I fell asleep with cloths still on, slept for 20 mins, all dreams. Woke up, slept again 20 mins, woke up, all dreams again. This continued and I woke up for 2 mins in each interval then falling alseep again. Lasted 2 hours then I went for dinner :O
On April 24 2007 01:02 mel_ee wrote: DAMNIT. i just tried taking a 15 min power nap and now its 3 hours later. GG WOW
do not try the thread topic!
Yea, this just happened to me, and i'm studying for an IMPORTANT test today. supposedly 30 minutes turned into 3 hours. I'm sure as hell I set my alarm, though...GG me.
It's 3 AM now and I'm still feeling drowsy as hell
Oh well, all I can do is hope the professor gives us all a huge curve
EPT
