Micro-Napping

Part II: A Matter of Minutes

Using an alarm in these experiments is an approach I strongly recommend, although I appreciate for some individuals creating a “deadline” to finish the nap may trigger enough anxiety to wipe out drowsiness.

That said, when I used the alarm, I was surprised and intrigued how just a 4 minute timespan still yielded an obvious awakening from whatever the length of the nap. Rarely do I imagine I fell asleep in less than 1 minute, so a 4 minute timer could have been a 2 to 3 minute total nap time, and it was refreshing.

Obviously, each preceding 15 to 30 min interval before choosing to nap has a lot to do with your estimates for the alarm setting as might other circumstances.

For my own physiology, I could generally count on falling asleep in 2 to 3 minutes and needing a total sleep time ranging from 4 to 12 minutes. Thus, my alarms on average were set between 6 and 7 minutes up a max of 15 to 16 minutes, from the moment my head assumed a resting position.

My resting position for naps almost always inclines at 45 degrees or higher, always on my right side, and always with a breathing apparatus, usually nasal prongs and on occasion my oral appliance for a longer nap.

As many have described in research, sleep inertia remains a concerns for most us, as its counter-productive effect eats up so much of our time trying to restart the engine. On the other hand, long ago prior to treating my sleep disorders when I might take 30 to 90 min naps, I learned to productively use the sleep inertia period by keeping work or education material close at hand post-awakening.

I’ll leave longer naps and what it might mean to need naps as well as sleep inertia for a deeper discussion on another post. For now, let me close with micro-napping has seemed beneficial 80% of the time. The other 20% reflects episodes of no sleep or the dogs disrupting the attempts.

For the successful naps, the 80%, I noticed a refreshing feeling for each episode, greater alertness, and a restorative sense to reengage in whatever activity was up next.