It’s 6:50 am & I Just Woke Up From A Power Nap!
I’m not making that up. It’s Monday morning, January 13th, and I’ve already had two cups of coffee, but I decided it was time for a nap.
I woke up earlier than usual today, at 3:50, and soon after that, I decided it was time to start the day. Most mornings, I don’t set an alarm clock; I just wake up, and that usually ranges from 4 to 6 a.m.
I wish it went later somedays 🙂
I posted on Facebook that I may be the G.O.A.T at napping. On Saturday, my wife politely reminded me that we were leaving the house at 2:30 pm to head to our daughter’s college for a Basketball game. I was pushing the envelope to get work done, and I looked up. It was 2:08. I thought I wanted to take a quick nap, but I also needed to shower and get dressed. No problem, I’ve got this. At 2:10, I set the alarm for 10 minutes, took a nap, and was dressed and in the car by 2:30!
Today was no different. I got to the office earlier than usual but needed a few minutes of shut-eye, even after 2 cups of coffee. So I went into my office, set an alarm for 20 minutes, and was OUT COLD instantly! And now, I’m typing this blog post and wanted to tell you all the value of napping and how to do it on demand.
I can nap ANYWHERE! The picture above shows me at a college football game in the sun. I recall this day. I was in direct sunlight; it was HOT! But I was exhausted, didn’t care about the game, and decided to take a quick nap. My family has made it their hobby to collect pictures of me napping. There’s even a picture of me taking a nap and standing in line for the Eiffel Tower :). Yes, standing up. I’ve even napped in the CrossFit gym during classes. Once you learn how to do it, it’s a fantastic skill to possess.
HOW DID I LEARN TO NAP?
The year was 2012, and I was driving back from Pittsburgh. I was exhausted and pulled over to grab a drink and snack. While still parked at the fuel pumps, I thought, “I’ll close my eyes for a few minutes.” Forty-five minutes later, I woke up, unsure of where I was. It is took me 20 minutes to understand where I was and how I got to a gas station.
It was at that time that I decided to study napping.
In my research, I learned that what happened to me at that gas pump was I let my body get into deep sleep; it thought I was out for the night. But there’s one problem: I wasn’t since it was the middle of the day, and my body knew that. So, I tricked my brain, and I had to deal with the ramifications of that.
The research I found talked about the value of napping, and these are the key pointers that helped me:
1st – Start with 30 minutes and work backward by 1 minute every day to find your optimal time. Twelve minutes was my optimal time at one point now; it’s closer to 20 minutes.
2nd – REFUSE TO MOVE! This is key: you lay down, find your position, and don’t move an inch. You don’t itch your nose, move your feet, or anything. You lay there 100% still. Yes, it’s tough, but you’ll get used to it. I’ve found that my focus on refusing to move is what puts me to sleep.
3rd – Don’t worry about falling asleep. If you lie there for 20 minutes with your eyes closed, you are still resting, and better than being 100% awake. Understanding and accepting this makes it so easy for me to nap. I don’t take a nap expecting to fall asleep. I take one, aiming to close my eyes for that time.
Putting in noise-cancelling headphones and covering my eyes helps, but I can do it without either. Your goal should be to learn how to nap in the most extreme circumstances; then, it makes times when everything is perfect even easier.
