Now that you’re familiar with the benefits of workplace napping, you’re probably wondering how to implement it. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as telling your team that they can fall asleep on the office couch whenever they’d like.
Your approach to napping needs to be informed, lest your team suffer from sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is that awful, fuzzy-headed state that can make you feel and perform substantially worse after a nap, not better.
To ensure that you reap maximum rewards from your naps, you’ll need to know the answers to the following key questions.
When should I nap?
The timing of your nap matters. Think back to the three types of nap: replacement, prophylactic, and appetitive.
Based on your schedule, you might use a nap to regain sleep you’ve already lost the previous night, or as a preventative measure against future sleep loss.
If you don’t have a ton of overall sleep debt norway telegram data but still want to benefit from naps, research suggests napping in the second half of the workweek, when you’re more likely to be experiencing a buildup of fatigue.
As for time of day, you’ll want to aim for what’s called your “postprandial dip”.
You might already know this as your post-lunch dip—that time in the afternoon when your energy is at its lowest.
Studies suggest that this is an ideal time for a nap, in that you fall asleep easier and can stay asleep longer during this window.
If you’re low on sleep debt, however, you have a little more wiggle room. According to research, “sleep-satiated individuals” may want to wait until even later in the afternoon to nap for optimal results.
Also, don’t blame your sandwich for all of those midday yawns; it’s not just your lunch that prompts this daily “energy trough.” The slump is actually due to your natural circadian rhythm, and if you familiarize yourself with your cycle, you’ll be all the more equipped to plan for productivity peaks.