Mephisto2

Courtesy of the BBC.


Grabbing an hour's sleep during the day may be as beneficial as a whole night in bed, according to scientists.

But the "power-nap" only works if the sleep is of the right quality, say the experts from Harvard University, US.

And experts say that a full night's sleep is still necessary for many vital body functions, even though a short sleep may boost learning and memory.

Many famous people have claimed that it is possible to get by on just a few hours' sleep a night.

Yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur sailed solo around the world while sleeping only occasionally and for very short periods.

However, there are plenty of others who say they cannot function properly without the full eight hours.

We should not conclude that we can do with just a nap.

Dr Derk-jan Dijk, University of Surrey
The Harvard research, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, compared the learning and memory skills of two groups of people during a single day, and again the following morning.

One group was told not to sleep at all during the day, and, as expected, their performance tailed off into the afternoon and evening.

However, the other volunteers were allowed to have an hour or 90 minutes nap at 2pm.

The researchers tested the brainwaves of the "nappers" to check the quality of their sleep.

Dream state

They were looking for two different sleep phases - slow wave sleep, and rapid eye movement, which is normally associated with dreaming.

Those whose sleep involved both phases fared significantly better than those who had no sleep when given the learning test later in the day.

Volunteers who never reached rapid eye movement sleep did not perform as well - although even this "poor-quality" sleep did prevent some of the deterioration in performance.

Remarkably, over 24 hours, the performance of those who took a good-quality "power-nap" was as good as volunteers in previous studies who were tested after two full nights' sleep.

The researchers wrote: "From the perspective of behavioural improvement, a nap is as good as a night of sleep for learning on this perceptual task."

Dr Derk-jan Dijk, from the Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey, said that there was increasing evidence that a combination of "short wave sleep" and REM sleep was important for learning and memory.

However, he added: "We should not conclude that we can do with just a nap.

"Sleep is useful for more things than just these particular tests.

"Other research has suggested that people given six hours of sleep a night over a sustained period find it extremely detrimental."

almostaugust

Interesting article.

I have recently taken on some night shifts at work. Its really screwed up both my sleeping and energy patterns. I think that sleep is still something that modern scientists cant fully understand.

__________________
'And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass'

oh yeah

I think the study should have gone on a while longer. See how long the average person can go on with just an hour power nap a day.

Mephisto2

I don't sleep half as much as my GF.

She really NEEDS eight hours a night and if she doesn't get it, is as grumpy as a... well, a grumpy person.

She is also a great believer in power naps during the day, getting up very refreshed for what's left to be done. This is a good idea when we plan to hit the town and start a major night out, or to recover from those terrible early morning hyper-activity sessions she likes. what's the big deal about getting into town and shopping so bloody early?!!

Mr Mephisto

Same Guy

i really wish there was a way to permanently cut down on sleep....
so much wasted time... could be surfin.
gamin..
stuff..
eating too, just gimme a iv drip and i'm set

__________________
Thank you, come again.

Scrub0

You just described my mom to a T. But anyway, I usually don't get enough sleep. 10 hours is my optimum, and I usually get about 5 or 6. 3 caffeine pills make up for it though.

soapysonic

I can sleep for 2 hours every 48 and be fine

Subform

Drugs are bad Mmmkay

__________________
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Subform - Allover the place

Nizzle

If I take a nap, I wake up feeling worse than before.

__________________
Nizzle

HaloLauren

BBC is full of it.

maestro

i kinda agree with the article. when i get a full 8 hours sleep sometimes i feel as if i hadn't slept at all. other times, i'll take a short nap and it feels as if i had slept for ages. i really think power naps do work.

GunslingerCold

Im a big believer in naps. Theyre just wonderful in the middle of the day. I wish I had time to take them every day.
The weird thing is that I can usually fall asleep quicker when Im just taking a nap than when Im trying to sleep for the night no matter how tired I am.
Also, when I get like 6 to 8 hours of sleep I dont feel refreshed at all when I wake up. I need 6 or less or 9 or more to really feel good when Im waking up. I really think I have some kind of sleep disorder.

water_boy1999

I read a very similar article from some Stanford Circulation about 4-5 years ago. I am a business professional, and yes, I take naps during the workday. I usually take a 45 minute nap and another half hour to do a crossword. I find myself much more refreshed after the nap and it definitely has made my afternoons more productive.

__________________
Doh!!!!


-Homer Simpson

mikecc

I believe the proper duration of a power nap is 1 1/2 hours. 1/2 hour into deep sleep --1/2 hour REM -- 1/2 hour coming out of sleep

Mephisto2

TEN HOURS?!!

Sheesh dude...

You'll only have lived about 30 years by the time you die...

Mr Mephisto

wwcd101

I can't/don't nap.

If I fall asleep for a short duration, by accident, because of exaustion, and have to wake up, I feel lousy. Way worse than just having to get up in the morning.

The pain far outweighs any gain.

Thanks for listening.