Taking a nap has been proved to eliminate fatigue, improve the focus of afternoon work and improve the overall work efficiency. However, because it’s free at home, it’s easy to screw up the rhythm of online work by taking a nap.

Why nap?

A 15 to 30-minute nap is best for the average person. Because once the nap time is prolonged, it is easy to enter deep non-REM sleep. Waking up from deep sleep is challenging and makes the brain dull, the body heavy, and the work efficiency plummeted.

In addition, the timing of the nap is also essential. At home, there may be changes due to the spatial relationship or whether to live with their family, especially those living alone can sleep at any time. Resting at the wrong time will affect the quality of sleep at night. The nap time will be slightly different due to getting up in the morning, but the ideal time is between 12 noon and 3 pm.

In principle, long-distance work saves commuting time, and sleep time should be increased. But even so, you will still accidentally sleep too long or sleep at strange time points. In addition, you may disturb the original rhythm of life by staying up late, leading to insomnia, sleep apnea, and other sleep disorders caused by diseases, such as daytime sleepiness.

For those prone to sleepiness in the afternoon, or whose work efficiency can not be compared with that in the morning, and who want to make up for their sleep and recover their physical strength, I suggest you use your mind to prevent yourself from oversleeping at the wrong time.

Refreshing nap

It is recommended to take a nap for long-distance work:
① Take a rest after coffee.
② Set the alarm clock in advance.
③ Don’t sleep in the bed.

Take a rest after coffee

Also known as “Coffee Nap” many coffee merchants in Japan are actively promoting this concept. My interest is that the general public generally believes that caffeine intake will be challenging to sleep. Still, it takes an average of 15 to 30 minutes to be absorbed by the body. If you go to bed immediately after drinking coffee, you can prevent oversleeping and wake up. Caffeine just works and improves work efficiency.
In one study, judo players were given caffeine and a placebo (fake caffeine) before taking a nap to investigate their performance in the afternoon. The experimental results confirmed that naps could improve sprint performance. The experimental group taking actual caffeine before going to bed had a better effect of repeated practice than the control group taking placebo + nap. It can be seen that a coffee nap may have a more powerful impact than refreshing.

However, drinking coffee can activate the sympathetic nervous system, so I doubt the effect of eliminating fatigue through autonomic nerves. Suppose you can’t sleep immediately after drinking. In that case, caffeine will work again, but it will be self-defeating and more challenging to sleep. Besides, even if you just take a nap (maybe even I’m not sure if I’m really asleep), it’s enough as long as you can drive away from the sleepers in the afternoon. In addition, I have the habit of drinking coffee in the morning. The effect of caffeine is still at noon. Although the product is poor, it is still in the state of a natural coffee nap.

Set the alarm clock in advance

It’s essential to set up a wake-up mechanism. If you live with your family, please ask your family. When the time comes, remember to wake yourself up; Set an alarm clock when you live alone or can’t ask your family to live with you. The ring of the alarm clock is usually widespread. Why not wake yourself up with your favorite music during your nap?

Don’t sleep in the bed

We must pay special attention to this. Don’t nap in a dark bedroom or lie flat on a long sofa (even if the light is very bright) because this way of sleeping can quickly enter deep sleep. If no one wakes you up, you may sleep until the evening. Just a few hours of a nap can disrupt the rhythm of your life.

Don’t lie in bed, sit on the sofa

It is recommended that you take a nap on a sofa where you can sit comfortably. Not only can you relax well, but also there will be no risk of oversleeping like lying in bed. It is a better choice. Sleeping on the table can avoid deep sleep. Still, the head, face, back, heel, and waist will be uncomfortable. It is also easy to produce sleep indentations on the front and arms.

In studio, it was suggested that the lazy bone sofa that can adapt to various postures and fit the body shape is more suitable for taking a nap. Therefore, we did a unique comparative experiment.
Although the papers summarizing the experimental results and submitting them to English journals are still in the stage of peer review, the experimental results show that the tension of neck muscles caused by the lazy bone sofa is lower than that of general urethane chairs; The ratio of low-frequency / high-frequency components (LF / HF) of autonomic nerve activity was also standard. This means that the body is more relaxed. However, due to the slight difference in brain wave ratio between shallow sleep and deep sleep, there will be no problem with excessive relaxation leading to deep sleep.

But then again, if you don’t set up a wake-up mechanism and sleep all the way to the evening, you will really become a “disabled person.” The general principle is to go to bed early afternoon but don’t oversleep. Try to make up for sleep in a relaxed environment.