Productivity | Power Napping Trick
Are you a Dolphin or a Walrus?
Learn how to power nap like a pro using the spoon trick
One of the ice-breakers I use when I meet a new group of people is to ask whether they are a Dolphin or a Walrus. You read that right, let me explain. Dolphins sleep with one eye open (called uni-hemispheric sleep) so that they remember to breathe and float; whereas a Walrus can fall asleep anywhere (yes, both land and water) and anytime.
Whether you are a Walrus or a Dolphin, a good night’s sleep can set the tone for your day — I already know the tone for tomorrow as it is about 3 am right now :/. So obviously, some can sleep a lot easier than others. Like this hypnotist who holds the record for sleeping 8 days straight! Any takers for breaking this record?
Note to my wife: No, you are not taking up a sleep challenge. Yes, I know you can shatter this record to bits and pieces. But, please, no!!
In all seriousness though, I am envious of all the Walruses out there because I go through many gray, gloomy days because of a bad night of sleep. However, power naps have come to my rescue. When planned at the right time in the day, and done the right way, a power nap can have astonishing effects on your productivity and mood.
The Science Behind Power Naps
Before we chat about power naps, let’s spend a minute on the science behind sleep. Sleep has multiple stages, and our bodies behave differently in each of those stages. There are two main types of sleep: Non-rapid eye movement (NREM — also known as quiet sleep), Rapid eye movement (REM — also known as active sleep). NREM is further divided into three stages based on brain activity, heart rate, and other body indicators.
In the context of power naps, NREM stage 1 is the one that matters most. This is when one can experience Hypnagogia. Hypnagogia is the dream-like state that occurs in the transition between wakefulness and sleep. Basically, you are just beginning to dream but are still conscious and it usually lasts only a few minutes. Common examples of this include feeling like you are falling or hearing someone call your name. But there is more…
Beethoven came up with some of his best music while napping and Thomas Edison thought of hundreds of new ideas when he was half-awake.
Hypnagogia is the sweet spot for your power nap — a 10–20 minute nap in this state can nitro-boost your day to perfection. But achieving Hypnagogia is not easy by any means. If you reach the stage of sleep inertia, which scientists have found comes after 20 minutes of sleep, you will most likely wake up with deep grogginess and you have to re-rouse yourselves to meet the remains of the day.
A 3-step Technique For the Perfect Power Nap
The hardest part about the perfect nap is that there is no easy way to control when you start falling into the hypnagogia state. So, a regular timer is insufficient. A genius painter Salvador Dali came up with a solution to this problem:
- Hold a spoon, key, or watch (or something else — use your imagination) in your hand.
- Relax on a comfy couch or a bed with your arm hanging right above a glass or ceramic plate
- When you go into a deep sleep (after about 15–30 minutes) your hand will relax and release the spoon, and the sound of the spoon falling will wake you up.
That is the perfect timing for the best nap ever. This technique has been attributed to Einstein and Aristotle as well. Let’s hope that some of us, like these geniuses, can master the art of power naps to enhance our minds and lives.
Fellow Dolphins and coveted walruses in the house, make some noise — a few flaps(claps) maybe.
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