Take a break part 1

Naps are wonderful, wonderful things. I don’t think I’d survive college if I couldn’t take a nap. What I find interesting is that some people refuse to take naps because they think they could be doing something else and not wasting time. WebMD would like to disagree.

According to their article, there are some important things to do before taking a nap:

-know when to nap. Create your own checklist. Things like a lack in judgment, slower reaction time, and reduced communication skills are some signs that you might want to shut your eyes for a few.

-control your environment. Make it the right temperature, the right amount of silence, the right amount of light.

-get out your blankie. Pull out that blanket or that pillow that makes your comfortable. If there’s a certain CD that lulls you to sleep, pop it in. know if you need to eat or not before you nap.

-know your sleep inertia. Sleep inertia, as defined in the article, “is that groggy and disoriented feeling some people get when you wake up from a nap.” Some people only need a 10 minute nap before falling into that groggy feeling. For others, it’s 20 minutes. Have a little wake up pick me up, such as a brisk walk or splashing water on your face.

-don’t overdo it. If your nap starts going into the 25+ minute range, you may affect your ability to sleep at night, which is when it really counts.

-don’t be interrupted from your nap. It makes everything worse, ruins the benefits that you get from napping, and is over all just a pain in the butt. Remember parents waking you up too early in the morning? It’s like that, but worse.

-set an alarm. You don’t want to go over that 25 minute mark, as mentioned before. And you don’t want to miss those classes or meetings. Set an alarm clock, a watch, or have someone wake you when it’s time.

-enjoy your nap. Nap time is your time.

For those of you who don’t believe that naps are beneficial, then I ask you this: why does NASA have nap time? According to the article, they “gave the pilots a planned nap in the cockpit…While two pilots flew the plane, the third would have 40 minutes to nap. We found they would sleep for 26 minutes, which boosted their performance by 34% and their alertness by 54%.”

So, enjoy your nap, but remember to nap responsibly. And please don’t torture your napping roommate.

(photo courtesy of me! yes, that's my baby puppy)