SLEEP ON THE JOB
A short midday snooze can enhance your performance in your home office – and in your back-garden gym, too
Far from a lazy habit, here’s why your afternoon nap is a natural nootropic
Staying at the top of your game can be an exhausting business. Just ask Cristiano Ronaldo: to perform at his peak, the Portuguese footballer (and proud possessor of eight-pack abs) reportedly takes up to five naps per day. It’s less a case of “eat, sleep, train, repeat” than “eat, sleep, train, sleep, eat, sleep…” Well, you get the idea.
Ronaldo’s routine might be extreme, but he’s not the only pro-nodder in sport. In recent years, the “power nap” has proved to be just that and has risen in popularity among athletes, thanks to its ability to accelerate muscle repair and sharpen focus ahead of training. Now, new research suggests that it could elevate your game in the office, too.
In a recent study, published in the journal General Psychiatry, 2,214 healthy older adults were quizzed on their sleeping habits. Those who reported enjoying after-lunch naps demonstrated superior mental agility. In particular, they noted an increase in verbal fluency and working memory – useful for your lateafternoon Zoom presentations. This doubles down on previous research showing that even young, non-habitual nappers can benefit from heightened powers of recall following a siesta.
With remote working becoming a permanent fixture of the post-COVID world for many, you won’t have to ask your office to instal a set of Silicon Valley-style sleep pods, either. Simply block out some time in your Outlook Calendar for either a short power nap (of about 15 minutes) or a full sleep cycle (90 minutes), then return to your desk refreshed – or crush your day’s workout with renewed vigour.
It turns out that being asleep on the job is no bad thing.