The coworker who told me my 20 min nap was a lie

I used to brag about my 20 minute power naps until Linda from accounting caught me snoozing at my desk and said 'that's not a nap, that's a blackout, you're not even hitting REM.' She was right, I was just crashing hard, now I set a 45 min timer with a 10 min wake buffer and actually feel human again. Has anyone else been fooled by the short nap myth?

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michaela1612d ago

Linda's onto something with the REM part. I read that a full sleep cycle runs about 90 minutes, so a 20 minute nap is really just stage 1 and 2 light sleep, which is why you wake up foggy and still tired. The sweet spot is either under 20 (just a quick reset) or right around 90 so you finish a whole cycle. Your 45 plus 10 buffer makes sense because you're giving yourself room to wake up slow instead of jolting straight back to spreadsheets.

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