Napping is one of the best, most underused tools for busy people. It is frowned upon by many people and is viewing as something for the elderly and children. Mention napping and you could be seen as lazy, depressed and unwilling to work. The majority of people experience drowsiness in the afternoon and notice their productivity and mood starting to slip and napping will help combat this. It is completely natural and helps to fight the affects of fatigue such as burnout, stress and a lack of mental clarity.
Even though there seems to be a taboo on napping, there have been many famous nappers who swear by the midday snooze to keep them awake and alert. Famous nappers have included Richard Branson, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, Winston Churchill and Leonardo da Vinci. No one can claim that these people didn't achieve anything and spent all day napping.
Research on napping is constantly showing positive effects. The results suggest that napping can make you more alert, reduce stress and improve cognitive functioning compared to working all day without rest. A mid-afternoon sleep means that productivity can last long into the night. Researchers at NASA showed that a 30-minute power nap increased cognitive functioning by 40%. The volunteers on the tests found that their memory improved as well as experiencing an increase in concentration. Those who didn't nap would score lower on IQ test than those that did (after a day of work).
If you feel a slump in the afternoon and from then on don't perform at your best, I recommend taking a short power nap to get yourself feeling alert and ready for work. You will feel rested and you'll notice your mood and alertness improve. I advise keeping the nap between 15 and 30 minutes as you want to avoid getting into deeper stages of sleep. If you do, you'll find it harder to wake and may experience the groggy feeling for a while.
For those who are worried about the after affect of a nap, there is the caffeine nap. A caffeine nap is taken after an intake of caffeine, so that you are asleep while your body digests the caffeine. After a 15-30 minute nap, you wake up and instantly have the caffeine in your system. This is great if you instantly need to be on the move after a nap, and you can bounce out of your sleeping state and jump into work feeling refreshed and energised.
Finding 15-30 minutes in a day can sometimes seem difficult, but doing so could mean a great deal to your productivity. Even 10 minutes a day will be better than nothing at all, and may give you the energy you need to be successful. If you're willing to give it a try, make sure you can find a comfortable place (both physically and mentally) before setting your head down. If you can feel secure and let go, then you're rest will be even more beneficial.
A lot of people who wish to start their own businesses but are currently working 9-5 will benefit from a nap. The majority of the work on their own business will be done after 5pm and it is hard to stay enthusiastic and inspired at this time. Taking a nap during a break at work or just after finishing work could effectively increase your concentration levels and allow you to keep working, allowing you to further your own business after the 9-5 grind.
Try this for a few days and see if you see the benefits. I did, and now I'm off for a nap!
對繁忙的人來說,小睡是最好緩解疲勞的方法,但也是最不為重視的辦法。很多人對此都不贊成并視之為老年人和兒童的事。如果你對小睡津津樂道你可能會被視為懶惰,懈怠并不勤于工作。大部分人在下午都會感到睡意且意識到他們的工作效率和情緒都有所下降,小睡能幫助他們緩解。這是非常正常的,而且有助于抵抗疲勞所產生的后果比如勞累,壓力和精神低落。
盡管對小睡似乎有些禁忌,但也有很多著名的瞌睡蟲依賴小睡來保持清醒和精神,這些著名的瞌睡蟲包括Richard Branson, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, Winston Churchill and Leonardo da Vinci.沒有人敢說這些人毫無建樹整日酣睡。
研究結果也顯示了小睡的有效成果,結果顯示比起整天工作來說小睡能讓人保持清醒,減少壓力,提升認知機能。下午的小睡能使人保持工作狀態到夜晚。NASA的研究員表明30分鐘的充分睡眠能提升認知機能40%.測試的志愿者發現他們的記憶力和注意力都有所提高。那些沒有小睡的人在IQ測試中得分比那些小睡過的人高(經歷了一天的工作).
如果你到了下午覺得精神疲倦并不能保持最佳狀態,我建議你打個小盹來讓自己保持精力充沛做好工作準備。你會感到充分休息情緒和敏銳度提高。我建議小睡時間保持在15-30分鐘之間避免進入深度睡眠,一旦你進入深度睡眠,你會發現很難醒過來,而且醒來之后會有段時間腦袋昏昏沉沉。
對那些擔心小睡副作用的人來說,有一種叫咖啡因小睡的。咖啡因小睡是在服過咖啡因之后小睡,這樣你在睡覺的同時你的身體在消化咖啡因。經過15-30分鐘的午睡之后,你醒過來,此時咖啡因在你的身體里了。如果你需要在瞌睡之后馬上清醒,這是很好的方法,你可以馬上從睡眠中醒來精神百倍地投入工作。
每天騰出15-0分鐘來有時候有些困難,但是這對你的工作效率很有幫助,即便是每天10分鐘都很有幫助,會給你成功所需要的精力。如果你愿意嘗試,在睡下去之前首先確保你能找到一個舒適的午休地方,(身體和精神上)如果你能感到安全,放松,你的休息會帶來更多的好處。
很多人目前做著朝九晚五工作同時希望自己創業的人會從小睡中受益。他們自己事業的大部分工作都在5點之后完成,而這段時間很難保持工作熱情。在工作休息時間睡個午覺或哪怕在工作結束之后打個盹都能有效提升你的注意力水平讓你繼續工作,讓你在朝九晚五的工作重壓之后仍能繼續自己的事業。
花幾天時間來試一下看你是不是能從午休中有所收獲,對我而言是有益的-我這就去瞇一會兒了!