The Nap Wheel (on the cover of Take A Nap! by Sara Mednick, PhD) is a great way to design your own custom nap based on the time you wake up in the morning.

How: Drag the “wake-up time” dial to the hour you woke up. Then follow the hours clockwise until you reach the point in the day when rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and slow-wave sleep (SWS) cross — the point of ultimate balance.

Example: If you woke up at 7 am, that balance point would be 2 pm. Naps taken before the crossing point will have more REM sleep… naps taken after it will have more SWS. Here are three different kinds of naps and a list of the benefits each kind can offer.

Stage 2 nap. This nap reduces sleepiness, heightens alertness, increases concentration, enhances motor performance and elevates mood.

Sleep for: 15 to 20 minutes.

Stage 3 (SWS) nap. Clears away useless information, improves conscious memory recall and restores and repairs tissues.

Sleep for: 60 minutes.

Stage 4 (REM sleep) nap. Increases creativity, improves perceptual and sensory processing, and improves memory for complex information.

Sleep for: 90 minutes.

Source: Sara Mednick, PhD, associate professor, department of psychiatry, University of California, San Diego. Dr. Mednick is author of Take A Nap! (Workman).

Date: January 24, 2010

Publication: Bottom Line Personal

See this post online at: https://www.bottomlineinc.com/health/sleep/customize-your-nap