There are three distinct types of nappers
There’s the habitual napper who takes a nap at the same time every single day. There’s the planned napper who plans to snooze before she actually gets tired. And then there’s the emergency napper who waits until she’s so tired that she has to stop what she’s doing ASAP and snooze. (Which one are you?)
Naps are a great de-stressing tool
Yep, if you’re feeling especially wrung out, ditching your stressor and taking a snooze instead can give your brain a brief vacation from what’s bothering you and calm your central nervous system. Then, when you come back to it, you’re more collected to solve the problem more effectively.
The “coffee nap” is one of the most effective ways to rebound your energy levels.
Simply drink a cup of coffee and then sprawl out on the couch for your power nap. Twenty minutes later when you wake up, you’ll feel more refreshed and alert than ever. The boost you feel from caffeine doesn’t typically kick in at full force until about 30 minutes after you’ve consumed it, and napping during that period of time helps your body process its existing feelings of drowsiness while you wait for the caffeine to take effect. Win-win.
You don’t have to fall asleep to reap the benefits of a nap
Even if you spend 20 minutes just lying down with your eyes closed, you can safely and effectively lower your blood pressure, relieving additional stress that your body is experiencing. So if you can’t drift off, don’t sweat it. Just pretend that you’re lying on a beach somewhere and soak it all in.