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Read this carefully: I used to think this way as well. This thinking lead me to the exact wrong strategy for naps. There are many stages of sleep; stage 1 thro

Read this carefully: I used to think this way as well. This thinking lead me to the exact wrong strategy for naps. There are many stages of sleep; stage 1 through 4, and REM sleep. These, it is hypothesized, have distinct physiological functions. Most importantly for this discussion, waking up out of each have very different effects. Waking from stage 1 sleep makes you feel immediately refreshed, and people perform better immediately have tests of mental acuity. This is also true of REM sleep; additionally you often remember dreams. Stage 2 is also good. A good 30 minutes afterwards, you will feel better rested, and your mental acuity will rise; for longer than from stage 1, but it is a delayed effect. But if you wake up out of a deeper sleep cycle, you get 'sleep inertia.' Mental acuity plummets. You feel poorly rested and ill. The problem: The body is often not even aware that you are sleeping in stage 1 sleep. You are in a different physiological stage, but you may not have lost consciousness. You usually are in this stage from minute 5 onto minute 10. And in stage two up to about 15-20 minutes. After that, you can fall into a deeper sleep; which waking up from is very problematic. I used to set my alarm for 30 minutes. I'd way up, feel even more tired, and set my alarm for 30 minutes again. This was ruining my life. --- tl;dr Even if you don't lose consciousness, you can still be 'sleeping' and a nap of 20 minutes will greatly help you feel healthy and well rested.

hanley 12y ago
I always had difficulty finding the correct amount of time to nap for where I would wake up feeling refreshed and not drowsy, until I read about Dali napping with a spoon in his hand. The idea is that you hold the spoon off the bed/couch so that as soon as you start to drop past stage 2, your hand releases the spoon, it falls to the floor and wakes you up. I now do this combined with a caffeine nap (green tea) and it works perfectly. There's a point where I deep in my conscious I realize I'm dropping the item. As it hits the floor my eyes open, and I feel refreshed almost immediately afterwards. The time for me is about 25-27 minutes from laying down to the drop.
- DaniFong 12y ago
  That's awesome!
clarry 12y ago
I think I know what it feels like to actually sleep for 20-25 minutes. Yes, it is refreshing. I also know what it is to try sleep (and fail) for the same amount of time. I don't find it refreshing, it just pisses me off. Unfortunately this is very common for me. It depends on the exact circumstances, but saying that it usually takes a minimum of fifteen to twenty minutes to actually fall asleep might actually be reality for many people, me included.
- DaniFong 12y ago
  That could definitely be true, but what I found was to seek a 'restful' state of physiology was much more helpful than to seek the loss of consciousness I had previously associated with sleep. Insomnia and other things are very real, but in this case the problem was with what I felt was a good rest.

hanley 12y ago

I always had difficulty finding the correct amount of time to nap for where I would wake up feeling refreshed and not drowsy, until I read about Dali napping with a spoon in his hand. The idea is that you hold the spoon off the bed/couch so that as soon as you start to drop past stage 2, your hand releases the spoon, it falls to the floor and wakes you up. I now do this combined with a caffeine nap (green tea) and it works perfectly. There's a point where I deep in my conscious I realize I'm dropping the item. As it hits the floor my eyes open, and I feel refreshed almost immediately afterwards. The time for me is about 25-27 minutes from laying down to the drop.

DaniFong 12y ago
That's awesome!

clarry 12y ago

I think I know what it feels like to actually sleep for 20-25 minutes. Yes, it is refreshing. I also know what it is to try sleep (and fail) for the same amount of time. I don't find it refreshing, it just pisses me off. Unfortunately this is very common for me. It depends on the exact circumstances, but saying that it usually takes a minimum of fifteen to twenty minutes to actually fall asleep might actually be reality for many people, me included.

DaniFong 12y ago
That could definitely be true, but what I found was to seek a 'restful' state of physiology was much more helpful than to seek the loss of consciousness I had previously associated with sleep. Insomnia and other things are very real, but in this case the problem was with what I felt was a good rest.