Power Napping Need Not Be Sapping

When I was in college, I was exhausted. Yes, we stayed up too late at night, but even on the nights when I went to bed at 10:30, I was tired during the day. So tired, in fact, that I had trouble concentrating on my reading and writing assignments.

A wise counselor suggested that I take a 5 minute nap every hour.

This sounded just about impossible, but it also sounded quite glorious -- a nap was just what I felt like I needed, and the break in studying was more than welcome.

Why impossible? Because it seemed unlikely that I would actually fall asleep within the 5 minutes, let alone be ready to get up again.

But despite the hypothetical challenges, I tried it.

I don't recall now, 40 years later, just how long it took me to perfect the art of instant sleep and instant reawakening, but it wasn't long.

Once I got the knack of it, I'd lie down, close my eyes, and in exactly 5 minutes reawaken. And best of all, reawaken refreshed.

I think most of us have had the experience of taking an hour-long nap only to awaken groggy and out of sorts for the rest of the day, maybe even with a headache.

These mini-naps are different. Instead of sapping me of my consciousness, they give it back to me.

Yes, I still take these naps now, whenever I have the need. On long trips, I stop frequently to take these 5 minute minis, and I always wake refreshed for the road. And there are some days when I need them to revitalize my day. It's a glorious thing to know that I will wake refreshed, not groggy.

So how does one get started? Here are some tips:

1. Expect success! Even if you hate the way you feel after naps, know that this kind is different!

2. If you like, put on some music. I'm pretty sure having music going helps me from sinking into complete unconsciousness. But I also know I don't need it, as in the car. Try it both ways if you like.

3. Lie down with the full knowledge that if you fall asleep you will be able to wake yourself up at the 5 minute mark. It's best not to set an alarm, but if you need to the first few times, go ahead. (Most people who do this find they wake up just before the alarm to turn it off.) The reason I don't recommend an alarm is that it's a terrible jolt to the nervous system when it goes off, and who needs that?

4. Close your eyes and go with the flow.

5. Get up after the 5 minutes, even if you haven't slept.

6. Do this every day you can, but no more than 5 minutes.

7. Enjoy the refreshment, and practice often.

That's it. It's lifechanging, delightful, and effective, and the price is right.

CNN.com - Studies: Lost sleep equals gained weight - Dec 6, 2004

This study makes so much sense! And it contains in it a kernel of hope for people who keep adding pounds. Here's the link:

CNN.com - Studies: Lost sleep equals gained weight - Dec 6, 2004

The study says that below a certain threshhold of sleep in 24 hours (the amount is different for men and women), certain hormonal changes lead to increased consumption of sweets and starchy foods.

The hormone leptin, responsible for telling the brain the body doesn't need more food, is reduced in subjects allowed less than their normal amount of sleep (4 hours two nights in a row).

There was also an increase in ghrelin, which triggers hunger.

The subjects' response was to eat simple carbs.

In a second study, it was found that people who slept the least weighed the most.

Researchers were perplexed about the food choices.

However, it may be that the stress of less sleep caused a cascade of effects that resulted in the subjects craving sweets. Here's what I have in mind:

Step 1. The subject is stressed due to lack of sleep.
Step 2. The subject uses up B vitamins at an accelerated rate. This happens normally during periods of stress. Or another way to look at it is that stress is experienced more when the body is short of B vitamins. Since we don't know anything about the diets of the subjects, we can assume it was a 'normal' diet -- which is typically low in Bs.
Step 3. A lack of B vitamins leads to craving sweets, also a known phenomenon.

Why would the body crave sweets when short on B? Or in other words, when stressed?

Most carbs in nature are in packages (so to speak) that contain B vitamins. Think grains, or sugar cane. The B vitamins are removed in processing foods made with simple carbs: things go from brownish (containing Bs) to white (no Bs).

But the body doesn't know this. Millions of years of searching for nutrients has taught our cells to expect to find Bs in association with grains, and in some cases sweet things (sugar cane, maple sap).

So when we're stressed, we reach for the closest potential source of Bs. Except these foods no longer contain the Bs our cells expect them to.

Why don't we just reach for whole grains? I think this has to do with digestion, on the one hand, and the speed of delivery on the other. Here's what I mean:

When we're tired, we don't digest well. Our systems shut down when we sleep so our bodies can repair themselves. If we don't get enough sleep, as in these studies, our digestion may not be ready to function again. More on this in future articles.

Also, now that we've subjected our bodies to 'quick' foods, those that are manufactured (flour, sugar), we expect a quick response, and grains, etc, take a while to process.

The result is that when we're stressed, we crave sweets.

OK, back to gaining weight when we don't get enough sleep. What can we do about it? Here are some suggestions:

1. Try to get some more sleep! (See the accompanying article on Power Napping).
2. Get enough B vitamins by eating whole grains, and keep whole-grain foods around for the next snack attack.
3. Deal with stress. See accompanying article, Ways to Deal with Stress, for suggestions.

Usually the only time we can get enough vitamins and other nutrients from food is when we're eating our own organic produce and experiencing only intermittent stress. Supplementation is almost not an option in our culture: it is a necessity. But choosing the right vitamin is important, or you'll just throw away your money. This site discusses how to choose a vitamin in great detail: http://healthyfrontiers.com.

The weight problem is obviously out of hand. What if more sleep made just a little difference -- every day? Would you make the change? I have become a little more forgiving of myself at 5 a.m. and have begun to go back to sleep for another hour. I hope it pays off with pounds off. PL