I have become a huge fan of the post lunch nap. In our house it is called Quiet Time. The Quiet Time name was coined by my wife Denise and its use began with our daughter Julia when she was a little kid. Julia did not want to go to sleep during her nap so Denise said that Julia could stay in her room and quietly read and play instead – a Quiet Time.
For Dense and me, an almost-daily nap is age appropriate. As you age the average number of naps per year increases from 93 days with a nap (when you are 18-24) to 135 days (when you are 55 and older.) As you age the amount of sleep you get each day is reduced and naps are no different. The average nap shrinks from an average of 78 minutes when you are 18-24 to 43 minutes average per nap when you are 55 and older.
The health benefits of a nap are extensive. A team of researchers compared the brain volume of those who were regular nappers with those who were not. The nappers had larger brain volumes that were equivalent to 2.6 to 6.5 years of aging. Moreover, studies have shown that people who take short naps tend to report higher levels of well-being and satisfaction and lower levels of stress.
Because the health benefits are so significant, you should nap as many days as possible. This means that you should nap at work in addition to at home.
When I was a Chief Information Officer at Partners Healthcare we had summer interns, young people who wanted a career as a manager/executive in the digital health field. I would have lunch with them. Our conversations were wide ranging but included my giving them tips on leadership skills they would need to develop.
One skill was taking a nap with your eyes open. I told them that they would have long days full of back-to-back meetings. There was no time to close the door and take a nap. So, they would have to nap during a meeting. They could not put their head on the table and go to sleep – bad form. They must sleep with their head held up and their eyes open. And they shouldn’t drool on their shirt or dress.
It took practice to nap this way, but it was doable.
The interns looked at me amazed. They knew they were fortunate to learn from the master.