How to take a nap: 6 tips for sleeping, at work or anywhere else!
I take a nap almost every day so I’m essentially an expert. Sometimes I end up a little busy or in a weird place and can't take a nap and that's fine but for the most part, I take a nap midday when I can. On workdays that means I get to work around 11 am and my lunch break is around 230pm and I take a 10 or so-minute nap. On my days off I take a nap on my couch after reading a chapter or so. That is about midday as well. At all the different workplaces I have had, I have to come up with a good place to sleep. A couple of places I've worked had couches and so that was an easy decision. But at my current workplace, I use two conference chairs and rest my head on the back of one, and put my feet up on the other. I have to lean back and almost fall off the chair in order to get my head to rest on the cushion on the back of the chair but I have found a perfect spot to balance and rest. It's oddly comfortable.
I don't remember why I started taking naps but I think they are a great way to slow down and restart the day. I work in retail which can be very fast-paced and stressful and taking a real break from it helps me get back to it in a more detached and calm way after the break. It is like having two short shifts instead of one long one. Also, it may have something to do with my caffeine intake as I drink caffeine right away in the morning and probably come down from it at midday as well. By taking a short nap I can offset some of that come down instead of trying to fight it.
I am a person who has struggled with sleep from a young age. I remember feeling super anxious about not being tired and feeling like I was going to have a really bad day if I didn't get the perfect amount of sleep. As a child, I taught myself meditation techniques and focusing strategies to calm my mind and distract from the anxiety of feeling obligated to sleep. These have helped me to learn how to relax in almost any environment and allow me to sleep in the car, on planes, at work, and almost anywhere if I am not already too stressed or feel too vulnerable. If I'm too amped, caffeinated, or stressed I can't sleep no matter where I am but I can almost always take the time to close my eyes and relax a little.
The following is a list of things I have found to help me calm down and get some rest.
Get those feet up. Use a second chair if needed.
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Getting the feet up seems to be a key ingredient for getting relaxed. Having the legs straight puts less strain on the knees and probably makes it easier for the heart to get blood through the system as it doesn't fight gravity in the legs. This allows the heart rate to slow and tells the body it is in no hurry to go anywhere. Whether it is a chair or a bed or a couch putting the feet up is going to help you get some sleep.
Head rest on a chair. Couch or bed with a pillow is best.
Resting the head might be even more important than putting your feet up but I have passed out just sitting in a chair without my head resting so it is possible. It usually means that when you wake up you have a sore neck or that you fall to the side and hit your head on something or someone. If possible it is best to control where your head rests such as a pillow or a chair back or headrest. Leaning slightly back in a chair instead of floppy around can mean the difference between a successful nap and a sore neck for the rest of the day. If you're in your own bed with a pillow it is ideal but on a couch with your sweater as a pillow or even on the floor with your sweater as a pillow can work just fine. Just make sure your neck is not straining or uncomfortable.
Quiet, dim, cool, or at least not getting bugged.
The most ideal place to sleep is a cool or even cold and dark place. The issue with this is if you only want to take a nap you don't want it to be too ideal for sleeping as you may be tempted to sleep too long or even unable to control whether you get back up after the nap. Usually, when I nap, I am just in a break room that is lit for day-to-day use and I have found this to be just fine for napping. Also, these spaces are usually air-conditioned and so it isn't too hot to sleep. If the environment is too hot it is almost impossible to get comfortable sleep. Ideally, I would have a nap space that had dim light, cool temperature, and no sound but this does not happen at work or in a plane or in a car most of the time so it isn't completely necessary for a nap. Obviously, it is better to be in a place where people don't go out of their way to bug you or make loud noises. Ignoring the environment is a good challenge and you can get better at it as long as it isn't a dangerous environment. Then you might not want to take a nap.
Set an alarm.
This may seem counterproductive but the point of a nap is to rest and be able to get back to the day quickly and without a second long waking period. In order to do this you can not take longer than about 25-30 minutes for a nap. Even that might be pushing it for me. If I sleep for more than 25-30 minutes I start to not want to get up and start to have the same feeling as waking up in the morning, where it takes a while to be fully awake. My current nap schedule doesn't go past 10 minutes in the first stage and then I tend to add three minutes and then one minute and then I get up. My total nap time at work tends to be about 14 minutes. The extra time is not necessary but sometimes I just don't want to get back to work. I can eat my lunch in about 15 minutes and that gives me about 15 minutes to nap. This works very well.
After reading sleep studies regarding sleep cycles and listening to sleep researchers it seems that if you start to get into the deeper sleep stages then it is harder to snap out of them and you might as well just sleep for an entire sleep cycle. If you're really tired and need a full sleep cycle then taking closer to an hour and a half or more is probably better than taking a 45-minute nap because if you wake up in the middle of a deep sleep cycle your body and brain will take a while to get back to normal daytime consciousness and you will feel groggy. This is why I try not to set an alarm for any longer than about 20 minutes if I have more time for a nap, like when I'm on a day off from work. I might snooze the alarm an extra 5 minutes but because I'm waking up and going back to sleep I am not engaging in deep sleep. It may not be good for everyone to keep going back to sleep after the alarm wakes up and if you don't remember to set another alarm you risk going back to sleep for longer and missing work so be careful if you do what I do. A few times I hit the one-minute snooze like 10 times in a row and this is probably not a good habit.
Don't worry about sleeping. Just close your eyes and relax.
One of the strategies I learned when I was young and had a hard time going to sleep was accepting that sometimes you're just not tired. What's the worst thing that can happen if you don't get enough or any sleep that night? You're tired the next day and maybe you're cranky or sleepy. Putting sleep into perspective allows you to not put too much pressure on yourself to get the perfect amount of or kind of sleep. The point is to relax, calm down and give the body and mind a chance to get out of whatever state it was in and restart the system. The point is balance and peace and so if you aren't super tired or you can't sleep then just take some breaths, close your eyes, and try not to put any demands on yourself. Sometimes I just rest for a bit and realize I'm not enjoying my nap and I'll just go do something else. Sometimes the task at hand is too important to take a break. Sometimes getting the job done or having a difficult conversation needs to happen first and then you can relax. Being honest and accepting your current mental state will help you take steps to get to a more peaceful place.
Relax your hands and your face.
One of the things I have realized that slows down relaxation or prevents it entirely is physical tension. This happens whenever I try to relax whether at night in bed or in a chair at work. I have to focus on my body and where there is tension, discomfort, or pain. I tend to clench my fists or hold my hands together tightly and I tense my facial muscles. I have found that if I can relax my hands and let them fall into a comfortable position I immediately feel more relaxed. Recently, I have found that I can relax my face, which feels odd at first, but when I do, my mouth almost instantly relaxes and opens a little. I have read that mouth breathing is bad but relaxing my face feels really good so hopefully, I am breathing out of my nose. Getting rid of muscle tension is a good way to melt into a nap.
Bonus tips.
Don't try to sleep if you are really hungry or need to use the bathroom. It will be too distracting.
Don't cross your legs or rest on your arm as you will wake up with pins and needles when the appendage falls asleep or pain from the pressure.
Music may or may not be helpful and may not be controllable. I like silence or white noise. Anything I can latch onto like lyrics or a memorable beat will distract me from being relaxed but you may enjoy having something on in the background.
I don't think that naps should be a replacement for a good and long night's sleep. I try to get 8-9 hours of sleep each night but I still enjoy my naps. I think that sleep is a somewhat dismissed aspect of health but from what I have researched and what I have experienced sleep is a really important part of a balanced lifestyle that values long-term health. Maybe I'm just obsessed with the incredible and vivid dreams I have and want to get back to them but that is for a different time.
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