You had a sleepless night and are walking around like a zombie. Or, you had to be up super early and now are having trouble thinking straight. You are wondering how you are going to make it through your day.
Lack of sleep is a big problem. It can lead to decreased productivity, fuzzy thinking, weight gain, illness and even accidents and injuries. So, if you want to be energetic, lean and cognitively sharp, learning how to catch up on your sleep deficit is really important!
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| The Art of the Catnap – Theo manages to nap almost anywhere! |
Should you take a nap to try and catch up with your sleep deficit? Or is it better to tough it out and try and hit the sheets early?
If you have even as little as 5-10 minutes, a short nap will enhance your cognitive abilities and alertness. Find somewhere to lie down, put your head down on your desk or just shut your eyes and lean back in your chair. Sleeping in an upright position will keep you from slipping into deeper stages of sleep. Of course, setting a timer is a good idea too. You may even be able do this at work on your break!
If you can find 10 to 20 minutes for a break, it turns out that a 10 to 20 minute nap to recharge is often the ideal solution for sleep deprivation. It will refresh and re-energize you, but since you will not go into REM sleep, you won’t wake up groggy and feeling worse than ever.
However, depending on your situation, a longer nap could be in order as well. Taking a half hour nap is not usually a great idea, unless you down a cup of caffeinated coffee just before the nap. You will start to slip into deeper sleep and will likely feel terrible upon awakening due to sleep inertia. The nap will help your thinking ability, but the grogginess will be brutal. The coffee is a good solution for some people (you know who you are) since the caffeine will kick in just as you have to get up. Don’t do this too late in the afternoon or you will mess up your sleep again!
If you have time for 90 minutes of napping, you will have completed a full sleep cycle, with all the stages included. This nap will enhance your memory and creativity and you should avoid the miserable feeling of sleep inertia which results from interruption of REM.
Finally, practice good sleep hygiene on a regular basis to avoid this problem, including a regular schedule, no screens for two hours before bedtime, in bed before 10 pm, dark room, quiet room, cool room and avoid caffeine after noon if you are sensitive to it.