Power Napping and Improving Fitness Levels

 

You might be familiar with power napping or you might not. Clearly we all know how good it feels to have a good night’s sleep.

Today, I had quite a busy day and had a little bit of a gap. I was super tired, so I had a power nap. This helped me to re-charge and be ready for all of my clients in the afternoon.

The sad fact is that most people just don’t get near enough sleep as they need, so it’s great to get back some of the rest that you need at a convenient time in the day.

The best place to do power napping is in a dark place. Some people prefer not to do it in their bedrooms because they then associate it with sleeping a full night and might end up taking too long of a nap (which isn’t great because you can feel groggy afterwards).

 

How long should you power nap?

If you’re looking for a quick re-charge then 5, 10 or 15 minutes is great for a quick power nap. I wouldn’t tend to go any longer than that because that’s the time when you’ll feel groggy after waking up.

(Grogginess usually occurs between the hour and the hour and a half mark.)

That is unless you’ll nap for a couple of hours, which might be the right thing to do if you’ve been on a long flight or been travelling (or things have caught up on you).

If you’re feeling a bit tired and you have some time in the afternoon – especially if you’ve been doing some early starts and late finishes – then it might be best to get a power nap.

It’s good for reducing your stress levels and re-charging your batteries, and I’ve never seen any research to say that it’s bad for you or that you shouldn’t do it.

And it isn’t going to have a negative impact on your circadian rhythm: your sleep/wake cycle.

Don’t forget to read our other blogs on the website about sleeping and how to get enough of it to help you with your health and fitness goals.

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