The Best Napping Techniques

As a second semester senior, I can proudly say that I am a professional napper. I take one nearly every day! But even for non-seniors, I believe that naps are very important, especially when you have a lot of work and/or have to pull an all-nighter. When I used to nap, I would wake up feeling like this: But naps should help, not hurt. You want your naps to energize you, instead of making you feel disoriented and groggy when you wake up. Nap for different amounts of time for different purposes If you’re having a hard time focusing on your English reading, take a 10-minute nap so that you can just get through it. But if you’re preparing for a big test, you’ll want to be more well-rested, so you should nap for longer. Set a loud alarm Make sure to time your nap with an alarm. Unless you’re perfect and superhuman, you won’t wake up when you need to! You definitely don’t want to accidentally sleep until 9 or 10 pm, when you’ll be in an extremely stressful situation with several hours of homework and no time to do it. Also, if you want your nap to be a certain amount of time, make sure to take into account how long it will take you to fall asleep when setting an alarm. It takes the average adult about 14 minutes. This is especially important when you are taking shorter naps, because you may not have even fallen asleep by the time the alarm clock sounds. Correctly pick when to nap Dr. Sara Mednick, assistant professor of psychology at UC Riverside, states that napping at certain times of day can be more beneficial than napping at other times. Depending on when you woke up, she can help you pick a time when your â€Å"ultimate nap† will occur. Try out her nap wheel here.