Wednesday is my fun day where I carve out 60 minutes of time to re-energizing myself. Today, my concentration is on the nap. I live for naps. I can nap anywhere, anytime as I openly and freely embarrass my children. I like to boast that I am taking the 40 minute NASA nap. So, I decided to do a little research to make sure there really is a 40 minute NASA nap and this is what I found out….
NASA 40 minute Nap Details
[unordered_list style=”arrow”]- NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (I have to say, I couldn’t remember what the acronym meant).
- NASA studied daytime rest periods for those whom fatigue, trouble concentrating and falling asleep could be deadly. Think pilots here.
- Researchers studied “power naps”.
- The 40 minute NASA nap is really 30 minutes of sleep and 10 minutes of settling into your sleep.
The results of the 40 minute NASA nap were that after the nap, the pilots, who were essentially lab rats, had increased alertness and performance. There was one caveat: longer naps were detrimental and caused groggy and sluggish feelings in addition to headaches. Therefore, aim for 30 minutes of siesta while giving yourself 40 minutes overall to rest and don’t go over 40 minutes.
Today, I plan on a lovely quiet 40 minute break into the land of snooze.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..