Summary

The article discusses the benefits of taking a short power nap in the afternoon to enhance productivity, reduce stress, improve memory, elevate mood, and increase alertness, especially for those working from home.

Abstract

The author, a seasoned remote worker, shares personal insights on the productivity-boosting effects of afternoon power naps. Despite the common midday slump, the author advocates for a 20-minute nap to rejuvenate rather than resorting to snacks or social media distractions. This practice aligns with the National Sleep Foundation's recommendations for a brief nap between 1 and 3 p.m. to combat energy dips. The article underscores that power naps not only improve work performance but also offer psychological benefits such as stress relief, better frustration tolerance, enhanced memory, mood elevation, and heightened alertness, which are particularly valuable during the challenging times of the pandemic.

Opinions

The author believes that power naps are more effective for boosting afternoon productivity than unproductive activities like browsing social media or consuming sugary snacks.
There is an opinion that napping can help manage stress and anxiety levels during uncertain times.
The article suggests that naps can significantly improve one's ability to tolerate frustration, which is especially relevant amidst the life disruptions caused by the pandemic.
It is conveyed that naps can aid in memory retention, which is beneficial for those facing increased distractions while working from home.
The author posits that a nap can improve one's mood, particularly when good sleep is hard to come by.
The article expresses that napping can lead to greater alertness, which is advantageous for those with back-to-back virtual meetings in the afternoon.

The Zero-Effort Health Hack that Boosts My P.M. Productivity

This ritual powers me through the last hours of the workday

Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash

I’ve been working from home for years, and I’m pretty tuned in to the rhythms of my day. My morning walk with my dog, Daisy, and my morning shower both give my brain time to play around with my thoughts. I land on the structure for an article that feels scattered. I flesh out a pitch that didn’t have quite enough substance to be a story. I find new ideas buzzing through my head.

And once I’m at my desk, around 9 a.m., I get to work. I tackle my top-priority writing project, energized by my mind’s early morning wandering time, and I’m at peak energy until lunchtime. I might get another solid hour in after lunch, and then my focus starts to decline. The words don’t come so easily. I click over to check my email for no good reason. I take a “quick peek” at Facebook and somehow I’m reading the 20 funniest tweets from women last week.

That’s the time when, in my old, in-office workdays, I would hit up the vending machine (hello, Twix) or grab a latte.

Now, working at home, I know it’s time for a power nap. Forcing myself to stay at my desk just adds empty hours where I don’t accomplish anything. I can’t find my focus or energy. Without a nap, the late afternoon just drags. Everything feels like it takes too much effort. I’m putting in the hours, but I’m not seeing any results.

That afternoon power nap amps my productivity for the rest of the workday. I make time for a nap as often as I can. Taking 20 minutes to rest and recharge boosts my energy, and I can get something productive done before dinner. It’s worth trading that 20 minutes of “down” time for the constructive hours that follow.

And don’t just take my word for it — the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) says that short naps like mine can help you recharge.

They recommend a regular nap between 1 and 3 p.m. That’s when, like me, most people see their energy levels drop.

Longer naps, where you reach deep sleep, can leave you groggy and disoriented. Plus, who has time for that?

With a few exceptions — organizations like Google, Huffington Post, and NASA encourage naps, according to the NSF — there’s still often a stigma about napping in the workplace.

But when your workplace is your home — like it is for lots of us now — it’s easy to sneak away for 20 minutes. And in this pandemic era, with its uncertainty, frustration, and malaise, we need our power naps more than ever.

Naps do more than boost our productivity. Here are five more benefits we can gain with an afternoon power nap ritual:

1. Less stress & anxiety

Here’s a short and incomplete list of things I’m worried about these days: my health, the health of the people I care about and those I don’t even know, the economy, my income, my daughter’s graduation getting canceled, my favorite restaurants closing, and the unknown ways life will be different in the future. I’m sure you have your own list.

Naps can’t solve everything, but at least they can help you lower tension, says the NSF.

2. Better tolerance for frustration

Even if we’re not on the front lines, the pandemic has upended our lives. I’m struggling just to gather household supplies, replace clients that don’t have the budget for me anymore, and figure out why I look so weird on video. It’s frustrating.

A nap can help — a study in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found that nappers could tolerate frustration for much longer than test subjects who stayed awake.

3. Improved memory

Even though I’m a work-from-home veteran, there’s the unending news cycle, my social media feeds, and that banana bread my daughter and I made yesterday pulling at my attention. You’re probably more distracted working from home, too.

If you’re used to solitude, and you have a partner, children, or other people isolating there with you, you’re probably even more distracted than I am.

Naps can’t eliminate our distractions, but they might at least help us remember what we were doing — a NASA study found that nappers had better working memory performance.

4. Brighter mood

A good night’s sleep is the gold standard, but lots of us are struggling to sleep. I know I’m well acquainted with 4 a.m. these days.

The NSF says a nap can take the edge off the irritability you feel when you’re not sleeping well.

5. More alertness

Got Zoom meetings scheduled all afternoon? You’ll be able to pay closer attention — if that’s what you want to do — after a power nap, according to a study published in the Journal of Sleep Research.