Naps help with work and life

Taking a nap or two during your busy day can go a long way to help with stress and busy schedules. A Lifestyle report suggests taking a nap can help you cope with work and life.

News and Observer
July 19, 2007
Joe Miller, Staff Writer

Snooze Control
Some grown-ups find taking a nap - wherever they can - makes them better able to cope with work and life

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The midday nap is as old as man. But it received renewed attention late last year with "Take a Nap! Change Your Life," a short examination by Sara C. Mednick of why naps are good (see "Why nap?"). A research scientist at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., Mednick's premise is that a short nap in the early afternoon can lead to a more productive day.

"The 'big picture' message is that napping is a necessary and effective tool that can be used by anyone in pursuit of optimum health, happiness and productivity," Mednick writes in her introduction. "I want to make you a napper."

That, she acknowledges, is a daunting task in a go-go American society where not only is napping frowned upon, but so is sleep in general. Read more...