A while back I read a BBC article on how we back in the days used to sleep in cycles with awake periods in between. The other day I stumbled over another article on the same matter from the NY Times. Both made me want to try it. Until today that is.
When I was at uni I used to come home after lectures and/or work around 5pm. I’d turn on the TV and lay down for a 20-40 minute nap. I absolutely loved them and did it pretty much everyday. I used to do it when I was at school as well. Exactly how I managed to fit in home work as well as seeing friend and doing sports all the time, not to speak of spending hours on the phone, I don’t know but I remember that my napping coincided with a period where there were a lot of discussions around the physical and mental benefits of a 20 minute nap during the day. There were even experiments carried out in the workplace where employees were allowed to nap and as far as I recall, though posing some logistical problems, the effects were positive.
Napping is not to everyone’s liking but it really suited me and had I been able to I’d love to participate in a study on the effects that it would have. Now that some of my friends have started to have kids I find myself increasingly interested in how they are coping with the lack of sleep. More so with regards to during their maternity leave rather than when they go back to work because the latter without a doubt is really, really hard. At least that’s what I hear, and believe from the last three nights where I’ve slept really poorly, which I’m sure is still much better than if you’re woken up by kids.
Though I do like the idea of split sleep cycles it’s pretty hard to make it work in a big city that involves long days as well as long commutes. I know that for me it wouldn’t be feasible unless I get some nap time during the day. Though three nights of bad sleep is probably a drop of water in an ocean of sleep deprivation compared to what some parents experience, I feel the effects quite a bit today. Perhaps it would get better overtime, or perhaps you just get used to it, but I’d love to try and see what an effect adding a few naps would mean. It’d be great it if meant that I could stay up late and read in bed without worrying that it’s gone past midnight and still be able to get up feeling somewhat fresh around 6.30 and go for a run in the park as the sun rises. Yet to be tried and tested.
Tomorrow – Day 271 | My first TechHub event
Image source: www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/7787096102
