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How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

danieltenner.com

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Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#41

Post by gommm »

adriand wrote: post #30

I frequently evoke envy in people with my ability to nap virtually anywhere - airports, trains, arms folded across knees with head resting on arms, noisy living rooms, whatever. (I don't get sleepy at work usually, I have too much to do). My method: first, only works if sleepy, or if conscious that sleep is really necessary. Second, obviously, avoid stimulants pre-nap. Third, get in a position where your head won't f…

I have a similar system, I imagine myself in an elevator going down and as it goes down I fall asleep. Before finding this system, I would need at least an hour to fall asleep.

I think it works by quieting my internal voice and giving an image to the process of going to sleep.

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#42

Post by MaysonL »

petercooper wrote: post #38
swombat wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, so do I. But if I have the voice outside my head, that also keeps me awake. The voice inside my head eventually tires out or drifts off, but the voice coming out of the TV is infatigable. It keeps going all night.

I must just have inherited my dad's skill. My mom used to have entire conversations with my dad and he'd admit afterwards that he "hadn't been listening" and couldn't answer a single question about it. I do the same with my wife.. oops.

I used to go into work and have the operations staff thank me for solving last night's problem and have no idea what they were talking about: seems I can perform perfectly rational problem-solving when answering the telephone in my sleep.

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#43

Post by mrj »

"I will lie in bed, awake, forever thinking and rethinking whatever happens to be on my mind at the time."

I can sympathize. I used to have a ton of trouble falling asleep until I learned some basic meditation techniques to shut off the inner dialog.

I quite literally focus on turning off my brain. I'm not really doing that, of course, but that's how I visualize it. With a little practice you can drift off at will.

Also, I read once that the meditation masters would carry a bamboo stick for students that fell asleep, for a good reason. :-)

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#44

Post by rradu »

I use radio static to fall asleep; it has the same effect on me as those binatural beats. I focus on trying to conjure up an image out of that noise (a waterfall or a rainstorm is often what I get) and that consequently drowns out my thoughts until I just pass out.

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#45

Post by davidedicillo »

I feel so old school in the way i take naps. just have lunch, drink and espresso, lean comfortably on the couch and 20 minutes later (when the caffeine kicks in), my alarm wakes me up, ready to knock out the rest of the day. Well... the rest of the day until the next nap, right before dinner.

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#46

Post by grinich »

gommm wrote: post #40
petercooper wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh man, I can't remember ever attending a meeting where I didn't phase out..

Meetings are special cases, on the contrary to podcasts and audiobooks they are designed to be boring :-) But yes I think I'm the same as you, I can ignore what other people are saying to me (my girlfriend hates that) but it's hard to ignore my own internal voice.

Maybe somebody should start a podcast with just tracks of boring meeting talk.

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#47

Post by loup-vaillant »

Before this article does collateral damage: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm

Acording to this, polyphasic sleep is a good technique when you can't afford to sleep much. Good in some extreme survival situations, like solo sailing. However, it is unnatural, and still leaves you in a sleep deprived state. Not good for everyday life. Even worse if you have to be creative.

One single nap just after lunch, however, is natural and good.

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#48

Post by pw »

edw519 wrote: post #5

I taught myself to nap almost anytime anywhere with one little secret: a Mindfold relaxation mask. http://www.mindfold.com/ The only thing I've ever found that provides total darkness in any condition with my eyes wide open. Combine it with a neck pillow and the right track on my ipod and I have a poor man's sensory deprivation chamber. A couple of deep breaths and the next thing you know, it's 20 minutes later.

In my experience, a good sleep mask makes napping during the day much easier. It'll also help with falling asleep at night in rooms that aren't as dark as they could be. And if earplugs don't bother you, combine them with a sleep mask, and you'll be able to nap anywhere.

There's a world of difference between $3 drugstore sleep masks and more expensive ones, in terms of comfort as well as light-blocking ability. I've been quite happy with Bucky brand sleep masks. They're available on Amazon along with a number of other masks in the $10-$15 range (including the Mindfold).

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#49

Post by _delirium »

mattmaroon wrote: post #33

Maybe it's just me, but I'm always leery of any advice that involves not getting a good night's sleep. There are some things you're better off not trying to hack. Much evidence suggests your sleep cycle is one of them.

Yeah, at most this seems like something to use occasionally, to be more alert despite being sleep-deprived. Possibly an alternative to just piling on caffeine. But I would definitely not read it as a technique for reducing the amount of sleep you "need", since sleep is a lot more than simply a thing that decrements your drowsiness meter. Twenty-minute power naps don't do fun things like memory consolidation, for example.

Re: How to nap: Power napping without sleeping

#50

Post by mike463 »

It seems these ways of falling asleep are really just creating favorable conditions for sleep.

A number of years ago I learned how to relax and fall asleep in a very effective way.

I was at a friend's house and tried a biofeedback device.

If you google search "GSR2" I think you'll find approximately the device I learned with. Later I bought my own similar device (like ~$10) from radio shack (google search "radio shack biofeedback monitor"). I don't know if they make that anymore.

What these devices do is teach you to relax. You have a tone, and when you relax, it decreases in pitch. If you just think you are relaxing, but the pitch doesn't decrease (or goes up), you can't cheat. By the end, the pitch is very low and you're almost asleep.

Once you learn how to do it, it's quite easy to relax and fall asleep. Using the other tricks like darkness, earplugs or relaxing sounds can then help you.

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