You know the feeling, not long after lunchtime, when you hit that slump and start yawning like crazy.
All you want to do is lie down and close your eyes for a precious 15 minutes, but instead you make another coffee and crack on with work.
But by not taking a nap, you’re missing out on some vital mental and physical rejuvenation.
In fact, a short nap of 20-30 minutes provides significant benefit for improved alertness and performance, without leaving you feeling groggy or interfering with nighttime sleep.
According to the Sleep Foundation, naps can restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents.
How to Use the Power Nap Meditation
Power Nap is designed to take you into a state of deep relaxation. To soothe your tired mind, the music is tuned to 174 Hertz – a frequency known to be a natural relaxant. Meanwhile, the binaural beats frequencies take you down into the Delta state, which is commonly associated with sleep.
We don't go too deep though. We hover just on the border, so that you can comfortably cat nap without falling into a deep cycle of sleep, as this would make you feel lethargic upon waking and possibly affect your post-nap productivity.
In the last 10 minutes of the composition, we switch the music from minor to major, and begin an escalation of brainwave entrainment up through the Theta zone and into the Alpha zone; where you will finish your nap and come around to full wakefulness.
Here are a few tips before you put on your headphones and get started:
- Make sure you have a suitable place to lie down and that the temperature in the room is comfortable.
- Try to limit the amount of noise pollution and draw curtains/blinds to reduce the amount of light filtering in through the windows.
- Turn off your phone or put it on silent, and let others know you don’t want to be disturbed for the duration.
- Set the volume of the track to a level you feel you could comfortably nap to.
- If you are at work, see if you can find a room to lie down in. If not, perhaps there’s a garden area near the building. If there’s no bed, sofa or relaxing chair available, take a yoga mat to work.
Now that you’re ready to Power Nap, simply slip on your headphones and press play.
One last thing: Don't take naps too late in the day, as this may affect your nighttime sleep pattern and make it difficult to fall asleep at your regular bedtime.