Comments on: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Naptime Edition

By: Gus

Gus — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:58:39 +0000

Try calling it a siesta, instead of this awful name, “power nap”. A nicer name may impact your enjoyment of the activity.

By: Spencer

Spencer — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:36:50 +0000

Everyone’s sleep cycle is different. Trent might try setting the alarm for different periods of time to see how long his cycle is. Fancier timers will only start when they sense that you are asleep, and try to wake you up at the right time.

By: Courtney20

Courtney20 — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:31:54 +0000

@ lurker carl – only in the US. Elsewhere in the world, naps are often the norm and actively encouraged.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:16:07 +0000

I agree with the others — power naps are supposed to be limited to 20 minutes, any longer than that and you start hitting deeper sleep cycles which is why you feel groggy.

I would love to take naps but my problem is it takes me forever to fall asleep — it can take me up to an hour to fall asleep sometimes even when tired so I wouldn’t be able to reliably set a timer for 20 minutes because the timer would go off before I would even fall asleep. \

By: Dean

Dean — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:04:01 +0000

30 minutes is too long. The days you wake up groggy means that you have crossed over into REM sleep. Keep it to 15-20 minutes. I set a time for 20, it usually takes 5 for me to clear my mind, so I get around 15 minutes of nap time. That works best for me.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:47:58 +0000

I’ve experimented with naps and found that they can have a very positive effect. I would suggest maybe trying a 20 minute nap to see if you can get the same benefits without the grogginess. With you personal sleep cycle a 30 minute nap may be right on the edge of entering a deeper sleep in which case you would feel groggy when awoken from a deep sleep.

@lurker carl (#5) – The fact that few employers tolerate sleeping on the job doesn’t make it a bad idea. If a short nap makes a person more productive for the remainder of the day then I think they should nap. I suspect that employers might seen an increase in productivity if employees were allowed to structure their work day based around what is optimum for them, rather than a more rigid pre-set schedule.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:43:12 +0000

Turn the screens off closer to bedtime ( I belive this was the suggestion of a few weeks ago), sleep better, you won’t need a nap every day.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:17:34 +0000

And, where do you draw the line between ‘playing the what if game’ (yesterday afternoon)and ‘worrying’?

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:04:43 +0000

When I find I need a nap, I have to simply sleep until I wake up, or just rest without falling asleep, if I don’t want to be groggy afterwards.

By: lurker carl

lurker carl — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:12:47 +0000

Go to bed earlier at night and you won’t need naps during the day. Few employers tolerate sleeping on the job.

By: Luke G.

Luke G. — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:39:41 +0000

You are probably groggy because you are waking up during a deeper sleep cycle. Maybe you could try a device such as WakeMate which tries to wake you up when you’re in a better part of your cycle. I use one and love it! (And I was not paid to say that, either!)

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:31:09 +0000

“A House is not a Home” goes back well before the Luther Vandross song– it’s the title of the memoirs of Polly Adler, who was a famous madam in the 1930′s and 40′s.

By: Baley

Baley — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:07:59 +0000

I think power naps are supposed to be only 20 minutes long. Maybe that would keep you from feeling groggy.

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:02:14 +0000

It’s okay to be human, and worrying is part of that. You don’t have to be an achievement-focused perfection machine.