Why should we nap?

We’re the ONLY animal that tries to get all of its sleep in one cycle.
Every other animal on the planet is “multiphasic”—meaning they have multiple phases of sleep.
Humans used to be multiphasic as well.
It’s only recently that we eliminated the afternoon nap from our normal everyday lives.

Sara Mednick, a leading sleep + nap researcher, says in her book “Take a Nap, Change Your Life”,
naps are written in our DNA.

In ancient Rome, they had a precise time when they took a nap.
It was their sixth hour—around noon for us. They called it “sexta.”

Sexta, is the origin of our modern “siesta”.

Sara also states “Learning after a nap is equal to learning after a full night of sleep.”
“Test scores of non-nappers deteriorated across the day.”

The next time you’re feeling a little drowsy around mid-day and deciding between taking a nap or heading to the closest Starbucks or getting an energy drink.
The caffeine in the coffee and energy drink temporarily blocks the melatonin receptors in the brain that regulate sleep drive.,
you’d be much better taking a nap, as it will help your body far more,
than blocking the receptors.

However, if you struggle to get to sleep at night, avoid naps after 2pm.
Because you reduce your amount of adenosine and sleep pressure falls –
You need those to be high to get a good sleep at night.

If you want to create a new habit, try this action:

After I decide to take a nap, I will set an alarm so I don’t sleep for more than 30 minutes.