Do you want to be a person of influence like Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Napoleon, Thomas Edison, or Leonardo da Vinci? One thing all these notable historical figures have in common is that they we nappers. That’s right, they all napped.
Winston Churchill’s nap was non-negotiable. It is said that he believed it helped him get twice as much done every day. Leonardo da Vinci took multiple naps a day, did it contribute to his creativity? Did napping contribute to these leader’s successes? It very well could have. Let’s take a look at why you want to follow in these people’s napping footsteps.
Why should I take a nap?
Naps can prevent burn out Today’s culture is so fast pace. Sometimes it can seem like from the minute you wake up until the minute you go to sleep it is “go,go,go”. This can often lead to stress and anxiety. Taking a nap can give you a fresh perspective on your day and restore energy.
Naps can increase your productivity level Have you ever felt like you become less productive as your day goes on? Have you ever found yourself dosing off at your desk? A 2002 Harvard University Study lets us know that a 30-minute nap boosts performance of workers. Napping can restore alertness and keep you productive.
Your body was designed to need significant rest to be able to function properly. Since it is obvious that we need rest (hence the fact that all of us get tired and sleep), we need to know how much rest we need and then try to get that much rest. Some people can be fine with 5 hours of sleep, others need 9. When you do not have significant rest, you can be easily distracted during the day, cutting down on productivity. When you know you need 7 hours of sleep and you only got 6, you can try to fit a one hour nap in that day to make up the difference.
Focus loss When someone who is rested up loses focus, they can more easily get it back. When someone who is very tired loses focus, it may take them a long time to come back to what they were originally doing. Multitasking can be hard for those who are lacking sleep because their focus is all over the place.
Napping can refresh you and help restore focus that you may be lacking.
For ideal productivity day to day, know how much sleep you need and then get that much sleep! Even if you have to cut some things out of your day to go to bed earlier, it can be well worth it because you’ll be able to do more while being well-rested.
A Challenge for you If you know you could benefit from napping, take the challenge of napping three days in a row. Either on your lunch break or right afterwork, sometime before it gets too late. See the difference it makes in your day and let us know in the comments section. You may be surprised to know how sleep deprived you were!
