Between zero and 20 to 30 minutes is what we call stage two sleep. And it's a very safe kind of a sleep, because you don't get into that deep, heavy sleep. Then between 60 and 90 minutes you'll get into rapid eye movement or rem sleep. So if you were going to try napping, and a, you might want to either nap up to 20 minutes or past 60 minutes. Rob, have you tried taking a nap earlier in the day?
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Every day around 2:00 p.m. Rob hits a brick wall. A busy job and two young children have zapped all of his energy, and he’s desperate to do something—anything—to make it through the rest of the workday. Enter the elusive and often guilt-ridden midday nap. But there too Rob struggles to really rest and then wake up without making things worse. On this episode of How To!, we bring on Dr. Sara Mednick, author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life and the forthcoming book The Hidden Power of the Downstate. Sara draws on years of research at her sleep lab to advise Rob, and all of us, how to stay energized during a long day (Hint: It might not involve napping at all).
If you liked this episode, check out: “How To Sleep” with Andy Puddicombe, co-founder of Headspace.
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