Do yourself a favor: Take a nap. In fact, do it right now. Why? Because afterward you'll better understand and remember this very important article. Bonus: You'll also jack up your creativity and improve your fine motor skills, according to Sara Mednick, a psychologist at UC Riverside who studies naps (what a gig!). Midday naps revive you, she says, even if you got plenty of sleep the night before. Of course, snoozing on the job has a bit of an image problem-it can look a little, you know, lazy (or so my boss keeps telling me). Sure, slamming Red Bull more obviously flaunts your will to soldier on, defying the limits of your poor little body. But nodding off for a few minutes may help you bounce back far more effectively. "Sometimes caffeine actually makes you perform worse," Mednick says. "If napping helps some people get more out of themselves, not allowing it would defeat the purpose of having those people in the office." 1 Even better, suggests Jamie Zeitzer of the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, drink some coffee, then take a nap. The caffeine takes about 45 minutes to kick in-enough time to duck into a quiet room or your car for some z's-then wakes you up smarter and happier, without a groggy sleep hangover. "But if you have to choose between coffee or a nap, go for the nap," Zeitzer says. Not convinced? Get some sleep, then read this again.
展开▼
