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Japanese people suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. The sight of salarymen sleeping on commuter trains is common in Japan, but it often surprises and is reported on overseas.
To alleviate such sleep deprivation, "napping" has garnered attention. Recently, topics related to "napping" and "power naps" are frequently covered in the media, indicating a growing public interest. This article will introduce the importance of napping and how to take a proper nap (duration).
Should You Take Naps?
If you feel sleepy and there is an environment where you can sleep, it is good to take a nap without enduring it. However, sleeping during your commute does not mean you can sleep less at home. Fragmented sleep cannot achieve the same effects as continuous sleep.
Examples of Companies Implementing Naps
Overseas companies are reportedly implementing naps for employees to improve their performance and stabilize their mental balance. Recently, napping at companies has started to gain attention in Japan, too, with an increasing number of companies encouraging employees to take a nap, especially after lunch.
For chronically sleep-deprived employees, taking a nap can improve work performance, which is beneficial. Napping is particularly recommended for employees working in fields where sleep deprivation or resulting lack of concentration can lead to serious accidents, such as driving, construction, and factory work.
How to Take a Proper Nap
Duration should be around 20-30 minutes.
Generally, a nap of about 20 minutes is considered ideal. Sleeping longer than that may paradoxically make you feel more sleepy after waking up.
Furthermore, an experiment conducted by a Japanese research institution investigating the relationship between napping and the onset of dementia found that people who napped for more than an hour had twice the risk of developing dementia compared to those who did not nap. Conversely, the incidence rate for those who napped for less than 30 minutes was reduced to about one-sixth compared to non-nappers.
Taking an appropriate nap of less than 30 minutes can also help reduce the risk of illness, so those who are sleep-deprived and should nap should also pay attention to the nap duration.
Do not go to bed
If you go to bed, you might feel sleepier after waking up than before sleeping, or you might end up sleeping for more than 30 minutes. Therefore, when taking a nap, it's recommended to lean your head on a desk or sit on a sofa or chair. A neck pillow can help you take a more comfortable nap.
Turn off lights
If the surroundings are bright with sunlight or artificial lights, the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone, is said to decrease, which lowers the quality of your nap. Conversely, when waking up, making the surroundings bright and suppressing melatonin secretion can help you wake up feeling refreshed. If you cannot turn off the lights in an office, using an eye mask to block out the light is also a good option.
Do not look at smartphones
Similar to lights, blue light emitted from smartphone and computer screens also inhibits the production of melatonin, which promotes sleep. Therefore, avoid looking at your smartphone during naps.
Music with 1/f fluctuation is recommended.
You may have heard of "1/f fluctuation*1." "1/f fluctuation" is said to be the rhythm of nature, and it is believed to be present in waves crashing on the beach, the sound of wind in the mountains, and the sound of water flowing in a river. In fact, classical music is also said to contain "1/f" fluctuation.
Since "1/f fluctuation" is considered a sound that people find comfortable, it can help you relax during a nap.
Conclusion
Again, for those who cannot get enough sleep at night at home, there is no doubt that taking a nap or power nap is beneficial as it can increase total sleep time. Conversely, for those who get enough sleep at home, napping or power napping may not offer significant benefits, but in today's society, people who get sufficient sleep are rather rare.
In the future, more companies will likely introduce nap rooms and systems for napping, and I hope these will be implemented based on proper knowledge about napping and power naps.
【References】
*1 Japan Federation of Information and Communication Workers' Unions
