Power Nap definition → How to Power Up Your Mind While You Sleep
TAKEAWAY:
In this post I explain the importance and valuable aspects of napping. More specifically Power Napping and how 15 to 20 minutes a day can change your life. There are numerous benefits of falling into a deep sleep and then waking up refreshed within 20 minutes. So, if you’re inclined to take a power nap, why not compound that time to help you overcome limited thinking and to get more of what you want in life? Adding a self-guided hypnosis while power napping can give you just that.
Table of Contents:
“I tell you, my naps are epic. They win awards”
INTRODUCTION
Despite the contrary belief, a nap doesn’t mean laziness. In fact, Pew Research found that 1 in 3 Americans are nap advocates, power naps that is, and even corporations like Google, NASA, and Nike recognize the power of power napping - to the point where they actually installed nap pods/sleeping rooms in the office! All in all, there's no denying that good rest (yes, that mid-day Zzz sessions) is vital to feel recharged, healthy, and well… empowered!
But here’s the issue…
Power napping may be a globally known buzzword, but the act itself can sometimes get confused with the other different types of naps, as well as the notion of actually 'sleep' itself.
Because of that, below is a deep dive into the life-changing powers of power napping, how to power nap the RIGHT way, a review of all the amazing mind/body benefits that are proven to tag along with it and a tool to take your nap from a power nap to an empowered nap! How? By making it into a power nap meditation. Read on..
Napping Vs. Sleep
First and foremost, what is the difference between napping and deep sleep? The key answer is that it all boils down to duration. Naps across the spectrum are meant to be much shorter than the standard 8+ hours sleep cycle and are designed to give you a quick boost of energy, clarity and rest in the middle of the day.
Sleep at night and the hours of sleep at night needs to be much longer, while naps should happen at some point during the day (preferably in the early afternoons).
Here is a breakdown of what happens when we fall asleep the what happens when we get enough sleep.
Napping
This is a short amount of sleep experienced during the day. It is perfect for a mid-day physical recharge, clarity, cognitive functioning, and regaining focus. How long is a catnap? Usually about 20 to 30 minutes, which means you get to experience the first 1-2 stages of the full sleep cycle.
Sleeping
This is a prolonged state of rest that helps your entire body recharge and prepare for the next day. This includes four distinct stages in order:
1. NREM – when your body transitions into a wakeful sleep.
2. Second NREM – where your body temp drops to prep for the deep sleep (naps usually end before moving past this stage).
3. Third NREM – progresses you into a deep sleep, where your muscles relax, your heart rate drops, and your body goes into full physical reparation.
4. REM – This occurs about 90 minutes in and is the stage when your brain features high wave activity, your body is physically immobilized, and when you are most likely to dream.
Different Types of Sleep During Daytime Naps
As mentioned above, naps are shorter than sleep and are designed to give you a much-needed physical and mental reset. However, not all naps are created equal, and there are several different types of naps that come with their perks and benefits.
Mind Break Naps:
The shortest of the bunch, mind break naps are roughly 5-10 minutes long and aim to give your body a quick chance to recover both physically and mentally. You may not fall asleep per se with this one, but it can be an excellent way to unplug from your work and refresh your mind.
Power Naps:
The most favored, power naps are an iconic type ideal for reenergizing, increasing performance, and raising alertness. Because a power nap is only about 20-30 minutes long, you are able to take advantage of the lighter stages of sleep without feeling the grogginess that comes after when you wake back up. Fun fact, NASA states that the perfect power name duration is 26 minutes. The perfect time for conducting a power nap meditation.
Long Naps:
Sometimes a catch-22, long naps allow you to fall into a deeper slumber. The catch is that despite long naps offering wonderful benefits in terms of cognitive and physical performance, snapping out of that deep state can cause you to feel groggy before feeling the perks. It can feel much like going to bed for sleep but waking up prematurely.
The Full Sleep Cycle (90 Minutes):
Full sleep cycle naps enable you to capitalize on the cognitive benefits of sleep itself. This means you’ll get to experience the lighter sleep stages and the deep ones, which can significantly boost creativity and memory. The best part? When you wake up at the end of the sleep cycle length, you’ll be less likely to experience grogginess and fatigue. The downside? Longer naps is not always convenient for those with busy schedules.
The Different Types of Naps
Why Is Napping Good For The Brain?
If you ever feel a bit guilty about taking a power nap during the day, just know that study after study has found that napping is highly beneficial for the brain. In fact, there is heavily science-based evidence that napping anywhere from 20 minutes to 90 minutes per day equates to better memory, better cognitive function, higher focus, and also better moods.
Benefits in meditation are equally as positive in terms of improving cognitive functions and using this time for a combined power nap meditation can change the course of your day and how you function significantly.
“Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax”.
Mark Black
Why?
Because power naps allows your brain to recover from burnout and information overload without needing the of hours and hours of sleep.
Information overload and the bombardment of stimulation can start the moment we wake up and look at our phones, turn on the news, read emails and react to daily demands and responsibilities around us.
It is known that feeling rested leads to feeling better overall, it collectively leads to you (and your brain) being ready/prepared for things like logical reasoning, fast reactionary tasks, memory retention, and performing at peak potential.
When you nap, your brain has the keen opportunity to weed out unnecessary information from its temporary storage areas so that new information can be absorbed easier when you wake up.
How To Take a Power Nap Like A Pro
Now that you know more about the 'why,' let's get into spearheading the 'how.' Power napping is about setting yourself up for snooze success and snapping back out of the nap before you enter the long nap type.
When a power nap is done right, it can work unparalleled wonders at helping you navigate the rest of your day. When done incorrectly, it can lead to sleep inertia, which is a feeling of grogginess, drowsiness and just feeling out-of-it.
The sleepiness that comes with sleep inertia can also last for some time, and change your entire sleep cycle.
Step One: Set Your Alarm:
To make sure you don't overextend your nap, set your alarm anywhere from 20-30 minutes. That way, you can doze off without worry you will miss the cutoff and have prolonged sleepiness when you awake.
Step Two: Pick The Ideal Timeframe:
For most, earlier in the day or sometime in the early afternoon when a pick-me-up is most needed is a great time to schedule a power nap. Doing it earlier will also help ensure your natural sleep cycle will not be disrupted.
Step Three: Set The Power Nap Stage:
To get the most out of your 20-30 minutes, make sure you are in a quiet, lightless space that allows you to relax and calm down both mentally and physically. For extra support, consider investing in an eye mask and playing some white noise to help you drift off to sleep.
Step Four: Post-Nap Revival:
Once you wake up from your power nap sleep, one of the best things you can do is stretch and go for a mini ‘recovery’ walk. This will help get the blood flowing again, get your entire body back into focus mode, and ultimately feel all the reenergizing perks of your power nap sleep faster.
The Power of Hypnosis
When we drop off into sleep, our brains go into a lower brainwave state. More specifically these are the levels.
Gamma 35 Hz Concentration
Beta 12–35 Hz Anxiety dominant, active, external attention, relaxed
Alpha 8–12 Hz Very relaxed, passive attention
Theta 4–8 Hz Deeply relaxed, inward focused
Delta 0.5–4 Hz Sleep
Similarly in hypnosis, we are in a relaxed state which makes a person more suggestible to messaging. As you go into a nap your brain becomes calmer so while you simultaneously listen to a hypnotic audio the suggestions entering into your mind will be more powerful.
The hypnosis recordings produced here in Discovery 2-0 were specifically designed and worded to empower various types of thinking states (For example, abundance, confidence, focus, self-love) and have the binaural beats that support getting you into the specific brainwave state.
All you have to do is listen, relax and absorb!
Power Up Your Mind With An emPower Nap recording!
In summary, never underestimate the incredible, life-changing impacts of a power nap sleep. In addition, never underestimate just how much better you will perform during the second half of your days when power napping starts becoming a part of your routine.
Now, there may be different types of naps out there, but a power nap provides unlimited benefits from improving health, enhancing creativity, discovering new ideas, problem solving to better overall mood.
There is a reason why The American Sleep Association has deemed power napping the most beneficial nap type for adults.
Not only does it completely reenergize your mind and body in a matter of 20-30 minutes, but it also acts as that hyper-charging outlet for you to take on each day at your highest potential.
That said, I could go on and on about power napping, how to power nap, and all the coinciding perks. But that is nothing compared to finally experiencing it yourself.
Your mind, body, and spirit all deserve it.
Just A Few Famous Nappers!
Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Leonard da Vinci…
Thomas Edison sleeping at his West Orange, New Jersey laboratory (1924) Image: Henry Ford Foundation
Jacqueline Connors, MA is a Psychotherapist and Transformative Mindset Coach who has worked in the private and public sector in leadership roles. She is trained in Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) Neurolinguistics Programming (NLP), Hypnosis, Brain-Based Coaching and Energy Psychology. Jacqueline has a unique blend of skill sets derived from psychology, business and neuroscience and an understanding of how to apply the best from each discipline into an effective coaching experience.
