Have a little nap
I had a bit of a nap this morning and woke up just in the nick of time for my stop at the Laundry HQ (satisfied nod). Reminded me of the time I had a doze, woke up, realised that I was AT my stop, got up, ran towards the door, got my bag strap caught on the hand rail, fell over, ran back up the aisle to release it, pelted back towards the door while starting to shout NOOOOOOOOOOOO, jumped onto the platform still shouting making a stir, only for the train to sit at the platform for another 2 minutes: I had arrived Embarrassment Central. The perils of the nap, what does science say?
In recent years, studies have suggested a biological need for afternoon naps. Researchers found that subjects of the studies felt that it was easiest to fall asleep at night and in the afternoon. Contrary to popular belief, eating lunch does not bring on drowsiness in the afternoon. There is simply a loss of alertness and a decrease in body temperature that occurs around midday, which brings on this drowsiness. These symptoms are similar to what happens at night during the first stage of sleep and are caused by Ultradian rhythms in the Circadian rhythm, also called the “internal body clock”. The studies have shown that there is a strong biological tendency for humans to become tired and possibly fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.
A NASA study has found that while naps improve memory functions, they do not aid basic alertness.
In New York, a company called Metronaps has opened a branch in the Empire State Building, charging patrons US$14 for the use of facilities (semi-enclosed ‘capsule’ lounge chairs) for a brief power nap. Patrons can also purchase membership for $65 per month.
Other names for the nap may include: cat nap, snooze, doze, power nap, afternoon nap or siesta.
The siesta is the traditional daily sleep of the Southern region of Alentejo, in Portugal, known as sesta. The original concept of a siesta was merely that of a midday break. This break was intended to allow people time to be spent with their friends and family. A nap was not necessarily part of the daily affair of a siesta.
Yawn, must go all this talk of sleep is making me tired.