The nap is a completely foreign concept to our host, Neil Hedley. Because Neil typically takes an hour or so to fall asleep, intentional short-duration sleep has normally been beyond his grasp.

Then, he met Dr. Sara Mednick.

Sara is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of California, Irvine and author of the book, Take a Nap! Change your life (affiliate link). She looked at data from a study involving napping habits in nearly 4,000 elementary school children. Subsequently, she and her team found some fascinating patterns.

For example, it turns out that the nap is among the things credited for improvements in cognition, psychological wellness - including what Sara and her team referred to as "grit" - and reduced emotional and behavioral problems.

We've talked before about sleep duration, like in two episodes with Dr. Adrian Owen OBE, but we've never gotten into detail on a quick siesta.

As a result, that detail shows up here. We talk about everything from how sleep hygiene applies to a short snooze, to the idea of a coffee nap.

We're wired to nap, Sara says. Or at least some of us are. Daylight doesn't have the same impact on the crowd that's predisposed for grabbing some quick shut-eye, for example. Furthermore, some people actually get better sleep at night when their day includes a nap. Especially when it happens as far removed as possible from their nighttime sleep.

Sara told us, "a twenty-minute nap at any time of the day is really not going to interfere with your sleep." Moreover, she says if you do it earlier in the day, and for a little bit longer, even an hour and a half, "we haven't shown any differences in nighttime sleep."

Linkapalooza

You've got to see Sara's website. (Be sure to check out the Nap Wheel!)