Tips for planning the perfect nap!

Sometimes you just need to stop what you are doing and take a nap! When was the last time you took a nap?  Did you know this coming Saturday might be the perfect day for a nap?  A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation, an easy way to increase alertness and performance according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Some people think that naps are only for children, the sick and the elderly, but one study by NASA found that pilots and astronauts increased their performance by one third and their alertness by 100% after taking a nap!

Talkaboutsleep.com said that nature intended that we take a nap in the middle of the day. Those who research sleep and sleep patterns have found that there is a slight drop of body temperature mid-afternoon and that mood and alertness drops. Americans meet this challenge in the worst possible ways – caffeine, sweets, etc. which might give us a little boost, but really do more harm than good.

Three tips for planning the perfect nap:

1. Plan your nap in the early afternoon. (Sleeping later in the day can disrupt your evening sleep.

2. Keep your nap short, 30 minutes or less to enjoy the greatest benefits from napping.

3. Choose a cool, dark, noise-free area.

No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap. (Carrie P Snow)