The 5 Benefits of Napping

Micronaps "“ Increasing your productivity

I have been practicing micronapping for years now but didn't really think it was unusual until a colleague mentioned it to me. I work a lot and get around 5 hours of sleep per night, and find that the micronaps really help to keep me going.

What is a micronap?

You may have already experienced a micronap without realising it. It's those moments when you doze off for a few moments, 2-5 minutes, and wake up with a start. It has happened to me in meetings, and I have woken up with a start thinking "˜Christ!I hope nobody noticed me', meanwhile somebody has posted a picture of me drooling, on the company intranet. You know the moments I mean.

Micronapping is a scheduled event and everybody can do it no matter what their schedule is.

How to micronap

When you feel you need a micronap just schedule 5 minutes away from everyone, I usually go home for lunch so I micronap there, however when I can't go home I use the toilet to take a micronap.

Sit on the toilet, lean back and just close your eyes safe in the knowledge that if you fall asleep nobody will see you. The beauty of micronapping is that your mind is still alert to the fact that you have only got 5 minutes so it won't fall fully asleep. You will be drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness (which is what sleep is).

It may sound as if this wouldn't help but it really does. What is happening is that your brain is sinking to an alpha state, which is sleep cycle where your brain is operating at 7-14 cycles per second, and coming back
to your waking beta state, which operates at 14-40 cycles per second. Read more about the sleeping states here

Alpha states are the states which meditators and people who are relaxed fall into. It is the state in which creativity occurs and is the state in which we typically daydream. It has a realxing effect on the brain andslows it down to rest.

Benefits of micronapping

I have found micronapping good for sleep deprived headaches, if I've not had enough sleep I get a slight headache and micronapping is great for this.
I have found I am more alert after a micronap
You can take as many as you need without really being missed, I usually take about 2 per day.
Micronapping allows me to get by on about 5 hours of sleeep without feeling any detrimental effects.
It can be done almost anywhere, in the car, in the toilet, in the house, any room that you will not be disturbed for 5 minutes or so.