In the 21st century, napping is making a resurgence. A mounting body of research is slowly starting to counter the age-old stigmas that napping is something fit only for pre-schoolers, the elderly, or the work-shy.
Some of the world's biggest companies like Google are embracing this sleep science as a means of boosting productivity, creative thinking, memory, cognition and combatting the general effects of fatigue in the workplace.
In addition, the world of elite sports is starting to understand how longer naps can be used to stimulate additional recovery in the daytime, allowing for more flexible training schedules.
In this episode we talk with power nap specialist Dr Kasper Janssen, a sports doctor who has in recent years began to focus his efforts in teaching and coaching both companies and athletes about the benefits and practicalities of doing napping the right way.
Along the way we discuss:
the different cultures of napping round the world
the stigma of napping in the workplace
how societal factors have changed the ways we've slept through the ages
how naps fit in with consolidated sleep, biphasic sleep and polyphasic sleep
sleep inertia and why some people feel lousy whenever they nap
research which shows how naps improve learning and short-term memory
a detailed step-by-step how-to guide to learning how to power nap
This Episode's Guest:
Kasper Janssen is a sports physician, researcher, speaker and power nap specialist from the Netherlands. He has worked with several sports federations in recent years, including as a doctor for the rowing team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 . He also owns Nap @ work, which advises companies and gives workshops on utilizing power naps at work and is the author of The Powernap Paradox (currently only available in Dutch)
Resources:
Nap at Work - http://napatwork.nl/
The Powernap Paradox - http://www.powernapparadox.nl/
Twitter - @KasperJanssen https://twitter.com/kasperjanssen
10 science backed reasons for napping - https://sleepjunkies.com/science-of-napping/
Episode homepage - https://sleepjunkies.com/the-science-of-power-napping/
