Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to take a nap when you are
Speaker 1: feeling run down, cranky, or that it will be tough
Speaker 1: to make it through the day. Sometimes a short nap
Speaker 1: can change everything. Better to spend twenty to thirty minutes
Speaker 1: taking one than to spend hours trying to muddle through.
Speaker 1: So on Christmas Day a few weeks ago, I was
Speaker 1: feeling pretty tired. We've had so much going on for weeks,
Speaker 1: and then Christmas Eve was filled with church services, including
Speaker 1: one where I sang half a dozen anthems and many
Speaker 1: soprano desk cants on the last verse of hymns. Then
Speaker 1: all the presents had to be dealt with. As the
Speaker 1: sun it was, I was reminded of a fundamental truth
Speaker 1: that every kids a morning person. On Christmas morning, they
Speaker 1: let me sleep until seven, but everything was a flurry
Speaker 1: of activity after that. As a result, by early afternoon,
Speaker 1: I was dragging. I got my toddler down for a nap,
Speaker 1: and then I crawled into my own bed. I was
Speaker 1: only in there for about forty minutes. It wasn't a
Speaker 1: deep sleep. As I know, I was lucid for part
Speaker 1: of the time, but I felt so much better afterwards.
Speaker 1: I was able to deal with the rest of the
Speaker 1: long day. Nap math is always interesting to me because
Speaker 1: most of the time a short nap won't actually erase
Speaker 1: a sleep debt. I was awake until one I Am
Speaker 1: on Christmas morning, and then up around seven. I need
Speaker 1: about seven and a half hours of sleep, So theoretically
Speaker 1: I should have needed a ninety minute nap, not a
Speaker 1: thirty to forty minute one. And yet the thirty to
Speaker 1: forty minute one felt absolutely sufficient. It powered me through,
Speaker 1: and probably that's even longer than a lot of people suggest.
Speaker 1: I know that twenty minutes or so is seen as
Speaker 1: the ideal nap length. That length makes people refreshed, not groggy. Honestly,
Speaker 1: even if you don't sleep, closing your eyes can help
Speaker 1: restore you some So if you are feeling run down,
Speaker 1: why not try shutting your eyes. If you're working at home,
Speaker 1: you just need to find a break in your schedule
Speaker 1: and go nap in your own bed. I recognize that
Speaker 1: if you are working elsewhere this might be harder. Close
Speaker 1: an office door if you've got one, go sleep in
Speaker 1: your car. I know that no one wants to be
Speaker 1: seen napping on the job, and sometimes there are good
Speaker 1: reasons for that. There are definitely times and situations where
Speaker 1: a nap would not be wise, But in many other cases,
Speaker 1: if you are not being productive, no one wins. If
Speaker 1: you continue in that state, doing something to boost your
Speaker 1: energy and be more rested could have a massive payoff.
Speaker 1: A nap might take less time than a coffee break
Speaker 1: or than zoning out scrolling because you can't do anything else.
Speaker 1: If that is the case, sleeping can save time. Yep,
Speaker 1: napping can be productive, Believe it or not. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: them moose of our times. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at be for Breakfast pod that's b E
Speaker 1: the number four then breakfast p O D. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
Speaker 1: i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of i heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.