Napping: An undervalued sleep reserve

Businesses in many countries, including Spain and China, find value in letting workers nap to recharge in the middle of the day. Others, like the United States, largely frown upon it. The mental, physical, and economic benefits of napping are many; [studies]( children]( who nap daily experience an increase in energy, academic scores and happiness, while simultaneously experiencing less moodiness and fewer behavioral problems. OK, stop yawning—let’s discuss dozing. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Sponsored by [Quartz Obsession] Napping August 09, 2019 Businesses in many countries, including Spain and China, find value in letting workers nap to recharge in the middle of the day. Others, like the United States, largely frown upon it. The mental, physical, and economic benefits of napping are many; [studies]( children]( who nap daily experience an increase in energy, academic scores and happiness, while simultaneously experiencing less moodiness and fewer behavioral problems. OK, stop yawning—let’s discuss dozing. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann By the digits [$63 billion:]( Annual cost in the US of lost productivity due to sleepiness [$70 billion:]( Worldwide revenue from sleep assistance products in 2017 [$13,000:]( Cost of a single MetroNap EnergyPod [33%:]( Share of Americans who get less than six hours of sleep a night [7-9:]( Hours of sleep a night recommended for adults [6.8:]( Hours of sleep Americans get per night on average [7.1:]( Hours of sleep Spaniards get per night on average [70%:]( Share of Brits who sleep less than seven hours per night [6.5:]( Average hours of sleep for “an average Chinese working professional in an urban metropolis” [0.5 to 2.5:]( Hours of sleep astronauts lose nightly compared to when they are on earth Giphy Explain it like I’m 5! Why napping is so good for us --------------------------------------------------------------- Napping is awesome. It refreshes mind and body, perhaps because the brain is doing [“housekeeping.”]( Mental: Naps as short as [six minutes]( can improve the part of long-term memory related to the ability to recall facts and knowledge. Just 20–30 minutes [improves]( motor skills (even typing) and alertness, while 30–60 will boost decision-making skills. NASA found that a [40-minute snooze]( improved performance by 34% in military pilots and astronauts—and improved alertness 100%. Another study that tested subjects on visual perceptions [found]( that they performed just as well after a 90-minute nap as they did after a full eight hours of sleep. Physical: Naps aren’t just good for your brain; your body benefits too. Studies [have shown]( that sleep-deprived individuals who can snag a couple of quick cat-naps experience lowered levels of cytokines (too many cytokines can [damage organs]( and norepinephrine (adrenaline that [can cause]( high blood pressure, anxiety, and heart palpitations). Economic: The Wilson Quarterly [reports]( that a 2011 study found that a lack of sleep, and the exhaustion that inevitably follows, costs the United States $63.2 billion per year in lost productivity. Other studies show that a quick 20–30 minute nap boosts job performance by up to 34% thanks to decreased stress, increased attention to detail, and improved cognitive abilities. Nappers are also [less prone]( to impulsive decisions and have a higher tolerance to frustration. But people who experience insomnia or depression may want to avoid a daily afternoon slumber. [According to]( Michael Perlis, Assistant Director of the University of Rochester Sleep Research Laboratory, “Napping may worsen nocturnal sleep in patients with insomnia,” he says. “As for the latter, napping may increase depressive symptoms.” Sponsored by HBO In the Middle East, four boys were slain and 4,000 rockets were launched --------------------------------------------------------------- The 2014 war between Israel and Gaza began with Hamas' abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers, followed by the retaliatory murder of a young Palestinian. 'Our Boys' is an HBO miniseries that tells the stories of all those involved, Jews and Arabs alike.[Watch the trailer for 'Our Boys' premiering next Monday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO]( Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi Pop quiz How long was Rip Van Winkle’s fabled nap? 20 years50 years1 year100 years Correct. In Washington Irving’s short story from 1819, the napper wanders into the Catskill Mountains and accepts a drink of magic liquor. When he wakes up 20 years later, the Revolutionary War is over, his wife is dead, and his kids have grown. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Quotable “It seems nature definitely intended that adults should nap in the middle of the day, perhaps to get out of the midday sun.” —[William Dement]( former director of Stanford University’s Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center Reuters/Hannah McKay Million-Dollar Question Where did the siesta come from? --------------------------------------------------------------- The word “siesta” comes from the Latin sexta, [according]( to Juan José Ortega, somnologist and vice president of the Spanish Society of Sleep. “The Romans stopped to eat and rest at the sixth hour of the day. If we bear in mind that they divided periods of light into 12 hours, then the sixth hour corresponds in Spain to the period between 1 pm (in winter) and 3 pm (in summer).” So how did an Italian practice become so synonymous with Spanish culture? In a word: war. After the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s, many people worked two jobs to support their families. The two-hour break was perfectly situated to allow workers to come home and grab a brief respite between shifts, eat a meal, take a nap, and spend time with family. The practice may be winding down in Spain—60% of Spaniards say they never siesta, perhaps because high unemployment means workers want to show their bosses that they’re pulling long hours. But [other countries]( still participate, including Greece, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nigeria, Italy, and China, where “heads down” time after lunch is considered a [constitutional right](. Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Napping? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – Fun fact! Salvador Dali’s [preferred method]( of cat-napping was to hold a key in his hand. When he entered a deep sleep, the key would fall from his hand and land loudly on a strategically positioned plate, waking him up. Giphy The way we 😴 now Pod people --------------------------------------------------------------- Progressive companies are embracing the idea that 20 minutes of shut-eye can result in hours of increased productivity. Google [installed EnergyPods]( at its Googleplex headquarters in 2010. The pods [combine]( lounge chair-esque seating with a “privacy visor” that allows users to avoid the prying eyes of others (read: no one will see you drool). Inside the visor, the user can control music and set a timer to wake up with lights and vibrations. Sleep pods, sleep rooms, nap stations, and other shut-eye solutions have popped up in [airports]( and [universities]( across the US as well. Watch this! Guided Naps --------------------------------------------------------------- Want to snooze but having trouble getting there? Try this guided, one-hour nap (or a [30-minute]( power nap). A voice talks you into your slumber, then there’s soothing music, nature sounds, and white noise. You’ll be awoken by chimes at the end of the hour. Sweet dreams! Don’t try this at home Polyphasic sleep and the geniuses who love It --------------------------------------------------------------- Most people are monophasic sleepers: our sleep happens in one big chunk, followed by a long span of wakefulness. But throughout history, stories persist of superachievers who insist they function best on [minimal sleep supplemented by short naps]( allowing them to maximize their time. Known as polyphasic sleeping, this method is [said]( to have been a favorite of Nikola Tesla and Leonardo Da Vinci, among others. The idea is that shorter chunks of sleep force our bodies to skip non-productive sleep cycles, saving time and requiring fewer hours of down time. When we’re really exhausted, our bodies default to REM and Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) cycles, which are the most productive phases of sleep: REM regulates mood, facilitates dreaming, and stores memories. SWS is deep, restorative sleep. In theory, polyphasic sleeping means the body is always tired enough to launch right into those phases when your head hits the pillow. So if polyphasic sleep worked for history’s geniuses, should you try it? “No,” Alon Avidan, the director of the University of California Los Angeles Sleep Disorders Center, [told Time](. “There is very little data—none whatsoever in the medical literature—of carefully designed clinical studies demonstrating that polyphasic sleep has any advantage in human sleep medicine.” In fact, Avidan says that the health consequences of sleep deprivation far outweigh any perceived benefits. Quartz’s Akshat Rathi [tried polyphasic sleep]( while studying for his doctorate, on the “Everyman” schedule of a 3.5-hour sleep and three 20 minute naps. Researching sleep, he was encouraged by the fact that our hunter-gatherer ancestors may have been polyphasic sleepers, and that the eight-hour sleep is a recent result of [lighting and coffee](. And it worked for over a year—until he had to attend a conference at which he couldn’t find time to nap. Being forced onto the world’s monophasic schedule, and lacking a time-intensive goal like defending his thesis, he ended the experiment. take me down this 🐰 hole! If your country isn’t one that encourages midday rests, the concept can seem a little foreign. CBS News [assembled a gallery]( of Chinese citizens adhering to their daily nap regimens. Giphy Poll Are you a napper? [Click here to vote]( I’d take one every day if I could.Sometimes, if I’m really sleepy.Naps are a waste of time. 💬let's talk! In yesterday’s poll about [Barneys,]( 23% of you think the beleaguered store will persevere, while 40% of you anticipate it closing. Another 37% aren’t sure what will happen, but anticipate a massive sale. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20napping&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) [🎲 Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Stacy Conradt]( edited by [Whet Moser]( and produced by [Luiz Romero](. The correct answer to the quiz is 20 years. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States [Share this email](