Sleep Doctor Michael Breus, PhD | The Insomnia Blog

One Stop Shopping to Boost Your Memory: Take a Nap

It’s no surprise to me that another study confirms what I’ve long known to be true:  naps are magic bullets to dramatically boost and restore brain power.

Naps are exercise for the brain.

Here are the highlights from UC Berkeley’s recent findings:

Sleep Boxes: Coming to an Airport Near You?

Nothing is more frustrating than traveling on empty and there’s really nowhere to get a cat nap. Lying across three rows of hard seats in the boarding area doesn’t do the trick. Sitting on the floor and resting your head on your carry-on luggage won’t do it either. And if you don’t belong to a 100K club where you can relax in a plusher setting, then you’re trapped.

Until now. Well, in the near future. Maybe.

Off to College, Probably Not Off to Sleep—Part I

The dog days of summer are fast coming to a close. In the coming weeks, millions of college-bound students will be hitting the books again and adjusting back into university life. For first timers, this is an exciting time period. For veteran upper classmen, it’s also a thrilling time to know that you’re close to being fully independent and out in the “real”  world on your own.

But for both newbies and soon-to-be graduates alike, the one thing that seems to get the best of them every single year is sleep. It’s not hard to get that “A” in not enough sleep. Translation: serious deprivation.

Naps are Exercise for The Brain!

Dozing off. Getting some quick shut-eye to beat the afternoon lull. Having a siesta.

It seems I’ve been talking a lot about naps lately. And the New York Times must have heard me this week, as it reported on a survey about napping. The findings:

• 1 in 3 adults admit to napping on a typical day.
• Napping is high among adults who have trouble sleeping a night or who have worked out in the last 24 hours.
• Unemployed people were more likely to nap during the week.
• Women, those who make less than $20,000 a year, and people dissatisfied with their financial situation were also likely to report having trouble sleeping at night.

Unfortunately, the survey didn’t define exactly what constitutes a nap. But I think most people can do that for themselves, even if those definitions vary slightly from person to person. Does nodding off for a few seconds on a commuter bus or subway count? How about putting your head down on your desk for a few minutes while reading? Or do you have to be fully engaged in the sleep-like position on a couch or bed?

Sleepless in the White House

How long do you think you would last if your alarm rang at 4 am every morning and you often didn’t stop working until very late at night? Your days last 18 hours, 7 days a week, but you’re expected to be on-call for 24 hours. And you’re not a physician who can take several weeks of vacation a year. OK, the vacation part is a joke!

The Washington Post published an article this week detailing the grueling lifestyles of the people working in the West Wing. It’s bad. It’s worse than anything depicted on the TV drama. Highlights of some of the descriptions of people’s days sound unbearable: 

Nap vs. Caffeine vs. More Nighttime Sleep?

If a 20-minute nap, a cup of joe, and more shuteye at night were in a cage match, who would win for reducing that classic afternoon “dip”? The answer is: (in order of effectiveness)

1. Nap
2. Caffeine
3. Then more nighttime sleep

A new study just released proves the power of a nap over a jolt of caffeine and even more sleep at night. It’s actually the first such study to look at all three methods for combating the afternoon lull that’s commonly experienced—and which is a very normal physiological response to the body cycling through its natural rhythms during the day.

The #1 Way to Beat the Afternoon Slump

Forget what Newsweek is suggesting as a way to beat the afternoon slump and just try this instead: a 20 to 30 minute nap. Seriously. I dare you.

When you’re feeling low in the afternoon, it’s not because you pigged out at lunch and are now entering a food coma. It’s also probably not because your blood sugar is taking a dip, even though a handful of M&Ms or a fat Frappuccino sounds good.

There’s actually something else going on unrelated to hunger: your circadian rhythm is cycling through a trough that normally happens about 8 hours after you woke up in the morning. So if you got up at 6 AM, then around 2:00 is when the body seems to slow down, your eyes will start to feel like heavy draperies, and you begin to crave a little shut-eye.

Unfortunately, few of us let ourselves go have a cat nap. Instead, we fall prey to the belief that we’re hungry (again!) and need that proverbial pick-me-up. How many people try to get through this lull with a sugary, caffeinated snack or beverage? How many calories does that add up to at the end of the year? I’d venture to guess a good 10 pounds, maybe more.

Naps are sorely underrated in the US, but I’m a big proponent of them. They are calorie free, and will refresh you in ways no snack can. It’s true that you can improve your memory and sharpen your brain in a matter of minutes in a quick slumber. If you don’t believe me, go here and download info, including an informative PDF about the sleep-wake cycle in particular. It’s remarkable stuff.

And if it’s the How-To of napping that prevents you from trying it, here are some tips.

The iSleep

Good luck getting this great sleep gadget approved by your boss. I’m surprised it took so long for someone to invent this “laptop pillow”:  a small pillow that will inflate using air from your notebook vents when you close the screen and rest your head on it. And an alarm to wake you up with sound 10 minutes later. But as you can tell from the comments online, it already needs a re-model.

I had my own thoughts, like how will your laptop like the weight of your head resting on it? Won’t it be warm or even hot if it’s been in use for a while? Can you really get comfortable in this position (and people around you looking at your drooling mouth)? Can you plug in some music, too, to cut out the background noise?

I applaud the efforts of the iSleep’s inventors, though. Creative. Innovative. And so needed. I can see students who live in the libraries at universities using this a lot, but I’m not so sure how it would fare in the workforce. There’d need to be a stronger movement that encouraged naps than what we see today. It’s rare to find a company that will let you sleep on the job. Hence the continued need for car seats that recline back so employees can sneak in a nap during lunch or a break. (Warning: only do this if you’re in a safe environment, and it’s not scorching hot outside or you could end up on the nightly news.)

The iSleep is a start in the right direction. Maybe I’ll get the iSleep 2.0 when it comes out.

From a 6 Minute Nap... to a Sharper Memory?

We know now that restful sleep helps us to consolidate our memories, among other great things it does for us. And we also know that naps can have similar, albeit smaller-scale benefits. But a “nap” is generally thought of as being either a 20-minute “power” version or a longer one that allows you to go through a full cycle of sleep (through all the 4 stages, not just the first two). Or is it?

News flash: you can really benefit from a mini, 6-minute nap.

In a new study just published, German researchers have shown that if you nap just six itty-bitty minutes during the day, it will not only make you feel better but will also improve your ability to learn and remember.

Sounds like a new fad diet, doesn’t it? But rather than the slogan “slim in 6,” we can say “sharper in 6.” And unlike a diet that takes so much effort with no guarantees, this is quite real and can help everyone.

Here’s how the scientists at the University of Düsseldorf figured it out:

Coffee vs. Napping

I think virtually everyone has had the unfortunate experience of driving while drowsy and struggling to stay awake. But not everyone has pondered the best “quick fix” short of getting off the road for a full night’s sleep. This week the New York Times blogged about a new study in the medical journal Sleep that attempted to answer the question: is it better to drink coffee or take a nap?

Answer: coffee. But read on... how old you are is the deciding factor!