Alternative Health Blog

In the spirit of the political season, as a final stamp on Sleep Power Week, the Alternative Health Blog endorses…naps! Science makes a strong pitch for regular power napping, either as it fits into your weekdays or, still effectively, on weekends.

University of California-San Diego researcher Sara Mednick has devoted a good portion of her professional career to studying the positive effect of naps. In one study, she compared a group of volunteer subjects who napped for 90 minutes (which seems long) compared to a second group that drank 200 milligrams of caffeine (equivalent to two strong cups of coffee, three generous shots of espresso or three to four colas). A third group acted as a control group, taking purported caffeinated beverages without any actual caffeine. On subsequent skills tests for typing and spatial recognition, the caffeinated group performed significantly worse than the control group. Plus, the nappers made fewer mistakes than both groups.

Mednick says because most Americans sleep less than seven hours per night (not enough for optimal health), a regular nap can boost you into the healthier seven hour-plus category per day. Studies show even if you just nap one or two days per week (Sunday afternoon snooze, anyone?) it can positively impact your cognitive skills and improved mood. The whole notion of feeling refreshed—sort of like re-booting yourself—is not without scientific foundation.

In her psychiatry lab, Mednick has discovered that volunteer subjects who are habitual nappers “perform better” when they nap and performance is compromised when naps are skipped. Winston Churchill was a devoted napper, so was Bill Clinton and Leonardo da Vinci. All worthy performers in their own right.

Mednick says a 90-minute nap is ideal because it moves the daytime snoozer into a more complete cycle of sleep, including rapid-eye movement (REM) and slow-wave sleep. Both work to rejuvenate the body—and the best nap includes both. REM is a stage 1 of sleep, so it is beneficial if you tend to be a napper who falls asleep easily. Slow-wave sleep is more stage 3 and stage 4, so it is important to sleep longer if your goal is performance., especially on more complex tasks.  For a quick energy boost, a shorter nap with REM is still valuable.

Each of us needs to experiment with the best nap length. Some people say they feel groggy if they sleep past, say, 30 minutes while others are convinced an hour to 90 minutes is irreplaceable. And some individuals claim even five to 10 minutes bring a burst of clarity and alertness.

Studies at the Human Chronobiology Laboratory at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell medical center have discovered that naps are effective for people 60 and older who tend to sleep up to two hours less per night, on average. The best naptime for anyone who is sleep-deprived tends to midday—even before a complete case of afternoon blahs hits you between 3 and 4 p.m.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.