The power of naps

The power of naps -Siesta's mental and physical benefits praised at UCSD event


By Matthew T. Hall Union-Tribune STAFF WRITER
2:00 a.m. March 10, 2009

University of California San Diego student Khrysten Taylor took advantage of yesterday's nap-in at the Price Center that highlighted the physical and mental benefits of napping

Weren't naps just the greatest thing about kindergarten?

The carpet. The curled body. The closed eye. Perfection.

Now it's nigh impossible to nap – or even dream of it – during the hustle and bustle, the hurry and worry, of work, family, exercise and economic collapse. Even children are lucky to rest their heads on their desks for 20 minutes, and may be encouraged to have quiet reading instead.
Relief arrived yesterday, handing the nation a better excuse than its collective fatigue to take a nap.

Yesterday was National Napping Day, the brainchild of Boston University professor William Anthony and his wife, Camille. They began the observance on the first full day of daylight-saving time 10 years ago because naps boost productivity – and cost less than a cup of coffee.
Sleep researchers argue that naps put coffee to shame because (a) they're free and (b) studies show they improve typing, memory recall and certain other job skills better than caffeine.
For yesterday's event, University of California San Diego psychiatrist and sleep expert Sara Mednick, author of “Take a Nap! Change Your Life,” addressed 200 people inside a campus ballroom for the school's first nap-in.

“There's such a stigma around napping,” she said. “You need to have a little bit more of a take-back-the-nap kind of attitude.”

Later, she added, “Could you imagine a world where it's, 'Wow, look how hard they're working? They're napping!' ”

Her scientific spiel was entertaining enough that it didn't put the kids to sleep, though that's probably not something she'd complain about.

More than 200 people signed up to hear Mednick's speech to kick off UCSD's venture into sanctioned napping. But only eight people stretched out on mats in a dark and relatively quiet ballroom at the Price Center. A ninth laid facedown over four chairs for his shut-eye.
Alexia Cervantes, 41, a UCSD Recreation Department director, bought into the excuse to sleep on the job.

“I'm new to napping, but I'm feeling inspired after listening to Sara's talk,” she said. “My husband's a great napper, and I'm always getting on his case about it, but maybe now I'm thinking he had it right all along.”

University administrator Liora Kian Gutierrez enjoyed Mednick's talk and bought a book for her to sign. Still, she doesn't think she'll ever be able to squeeze a nap into her workday.
“You just want to produce, produce, produce, and so you think, 'Oh you can't take a nap,' ” she said. “There are many times where I'm just exhausted, mentally exhausted, but I would never think of doing it.”

The UCSD and national events were very pro-nap, but the research is not unanimous.
One study, publicized yesterday by BBC News, suggested that naps may make a person more inclined to develop Type 2 diabetes. Another suggested naps may increase the mortality rate of women over the age of 69 who take them daily.

Still, the UCSD event emphasized a link between naps, health and safety.
Of sleep, which essentially occupies a third of human life, Mednick said, “It's been called the greatest embarrassment of neuroscience because it's the most obvious thing that we do, and we've no idea why we're doing it.”

As the nappers went their separate ways and Mednick gave her last interview, a half-dozen students rode a shuttle bus to a parking lot across campus. One student rested her head against the back of the driver's seat and drowsed during a bumpy ride, her right hand somehow managing not to spill a cup of coffee between her legs.

Walking to her car from the bus, she declined to be interviewed, saying, “I have to be somewhere in 10 minutes. It's the reason why I'm so tired.”

At least she got in a nap.