Naps for effective studying?

[Carlita088]

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Hi all, I don't know where I should post this, so I decided to post it here.

How important is it for you to take so-called "Power naps" when studying. I don't mean every single time, but when you do feel like you are running low on energy or that you need some rest.

I quoted "power naps" because naps, for me, are FAAAAR from giving me "power" if anything, I always wake up like and feel like I've been drugged for a whole hour after... I just don't get it🙁 . I don't smoke, don't drink, don't drink coffee...

sometimes I can hardly stay focused but will try not to nap, because I know I will waste a whole hour or more after I wake up from the "power nap".

I'm not sure what I'm asking, but if anyone could offer some advice, that would really help... b/c I can't focus when I'm too tired, and I don't want to nap because I won't remember anything I study after I wake up from the nap. Gaah, maybe I should see a doctor?😕

 

[future_dr_house]

exercise works for me, a good 20 minute run. if you don't want to do that, then try an energy drink.

 

[MirrorTodd]

The best naps that I've taken. Less than 1 hour of lay down time (not necessarily sleep time) Feet elevated. I always wake feeling more refreshed. If I sleep more than 1 hour, I always wake up groggy and grumpy.

 

[photo_girl07]

exercise works for me, a good 20 minute run. if you don't want to do that, then try an energy drink.

hey that's what i do....yeah running really wakes me up too 🙂

 

[Carlita088]

hm that's interesting.

so, if i'm exhausted, exercise?

i think this past semester, one of the bad things was that I was sleeping on the top bunk, so if I was sleepy during the day, i'd put a pillow on my desk and prop my head there. Not very comfortable. now i'm on the bottom bunk, thank goodness, we'll see how that works out.

I'm not too fond of energy drinks. Don't think I've ever had one actually.

 

[armybound]

sleeping helps for memory consolidation.. but if you're talking about just being tired, find a new time of day to study. i also usually only study for 15-20 minutes before taking a break so i don't get bored and just skim over pages without really reading them

 

[Quiet-Storm.]

I have one of those inflatable airplane pillows. I carry it with me when i go to the library for long hauls.

Basically im feeling tired and worn out, I pull it out of my bag, blow some air into it, put it on the desk and rest my head. Within 5 minutes im asleep and i wake up randomly around 30 minutes later.

Its amazing. Its like my brain is bran new. Very refreshing.

Just make sure you dont sleep for too long or your body goes into REM phase and at that point the sleep does not help since your heart rate and blood pressure and all that kind of crap gets elevated during REM.

 

[Carlita088]

sleeping helps for memory consolidation.. but if you're talking about just being tired, find a new time of day to study. i also usually only study for 15-20 minutes before taking a break so i don't get bored and just skim over pages without really reading them

good advice. thank you. I realized I was doing that wrong too. Studying or reading for long periods of time, only to realize that I wasn't remembering a good portion later.

i always feel "afraid" to take naps because I feel it will only decrease my productivity level, but while I'm awake and tired, nothing stays in my brain either. It was a lose-lose thing.

 

[Carlita088]

I have one of those inflatable airplane pillows. I carry it with me when i go to the library for long hauls.

Basically im feeling tired and worn out, I pull it out of my bag, blow some air into it, put it on the desk and rest my head. Within 5 minutes im asleep and i wake up randomly around 30 minutes later.

Its amazing. Its like my brain is bran new. Very refreshing.

Just make sure you dont sleep for too long or your body goes into REM phase and at that point the sleep does not help since your heart rate and blood pressure and all that kind of crap gets elevated during REM.

i automatically wake up after 7 hours, but i've been on break for so long (about 5 weeks now) and recuperating and i end up sleeping waaaay too much. 10 hour nights😕 gaah. the semester hasn't started yet. starts in a week, maybe I oughta train my body to sleep and wake up at regular times again.

 

[PEN15]

i automatically wake up after 7 hours, but i've been on break for so long (about 5 weeks now) and recuperating and i end up sleeping waaaay too much. 10 hour nights😕 gaah. the semester hasn't started yet. starts in a week, maybe I oughta train my body to sleep and wake up at regular times again.

That happens to everybody. You'll get back to the 6-7 hours of sleep a night in no time.

I'm not a big fan of naps. I always feel like crap when I wake up. Working out and having a day to day routine helps.

 

[rlwebb]

Eh just do what your body tells you, if you're sleepy you should nap. I always did than when studying for organic, I would just lean back and take a 15 minute snooze. Usually my drool running off my face is what woke me up. Study 20, nap 10, repeat, whatever. Sound like a slacker but I ended up with A's so go figure.

 

[Karina 07]

Sleep helps you memorize the things you looked at shortly before going to sleep (half an hour before, someone told me, but of course it's not a sharp cut-off point and god knows they probably weren't being scientifically precise with that statement!).

To use it to refresh yourself -- well, I guess it depends what you might otherwise do. If you're like me, and might browse the internet for an hour if given the chance, well, it's better to use that hour to sleep. If you've the will power to go exercise, that'll refresh you, too. What I used to do at one point was to just lie down -- not falling asleep -- for 10 minutes. And darn if by the end of the 10 minutes, I wasn't desperate to start working again. Not because I wanted to, because I still didn't, but because in those 10 minutes of just lying down not doing anything, I got all worked up and worried about how much stuff I had to do!!! 😛

 

[Tartheheel]

Have any of you heard of the "polyphasic sleep cycle"? Instead of taking one long 6-7 hour nap in the night, it comprises sleeping in 'instalments' of 1.5-2 hours each, and studying/doing 'work' in between.

Psychology/Neuroscience majors can probably elaborate or correct me if I'm wrong...So, this does make sense because the first few major stages of a 'cycle' of sleep consist of wakefullness, deep-sleep, and REM sleep (Rapid-eye-movement, the period of high activity in the body, and the 'dream' phase).

The 'deep sleep' phase of the first cycle is the longest of all, and is a period of relatively low brain activity; hence, one can expect to get the most restful/'power' sleep in during this time. The 'deep sleep' stages of the consecutive sleep cycles aren't as long; in fact, they get shorter and shorter...So, it would make sense to sleep for just one sleep cycle i.e. study/work for 3-4 hours and get that 'power sleep' for just 1 sleep cycle (~about 2 hours...this value varies from person to person..). Also, I've read somewhere that people feel more energized when they wake up during the REM phase....

I'm sure it'd have some bad consequences especially considering that it messes with 'nature' by screwing with one's 'biological clock. However, it is an interesting, feasible, and a useful (at least for me) way of chunking and spacing out sleep throughout the day; it'll save time, keep you energized, let you study longer....ONLY!! in theory..

I'll try it out over the summer...🙂

 

[Carlita088]

thanks everyone.🙂

 

[Amemus]

Have any of you heard of the "polyphasic sleep cycle"? Instead of taking one long 6-7 hour nap in the night, it comprises sleeping in 'instalments' of 1.5-2 hours each, and studying/doing 'work' in between.

Psychology/Neuroscience majors can probably elaborate or correct me if I'm wrong...So, this does make sense because the first few major stages of a 'cycle' of sleep consist of wakefullness, deep-sleep, and REM sleep (Rapid-eye-movement, the period of high activity in the body, and the 'dream' phase).

The 'deep sleep' phase of the first cycle is the longest of all, and is a period of relatively low brain activity; hence, one can expect to get the most restful/'power' sleep in during this time. The 'deep sleep' stages of the consecutive sleep cycles aren't as long; in fact, they get shorter and shorter...So, it would make sense to sleep for just one sleep cycle i.e. study/work for 3-4 hours and get that 'power sleep' for just 1 sleep cycle (~about 2 hours...this value varies from person to person..). Also, I've read somewhere that people feel more energized when they wake up during the REM phase....

I'm sure it'd have some bad consequences especially considering that it messes with 'nature' by screwing with one's 'biological clock. However, it is an interesting, feasible, and a useful (at least for me) way of chunking and spacing out sleep throughout the day; it'll save time, keep you energized, let you study longer....ONLY!! in theory..

I'll try it out over the summer...🙂

I tried this last semester. Google "Uberman Sleep Schedule." There is a lot about it.

I think the traditional Uberman is to take six ~30 minute naps per day. OP, your problem might be that you are napping for too long. I've found that if I nap for longer than 30 minutes I have a hard time getting up because I slip into a deep sleep. Half an hour is enough to give me a burst of energy, at least for a few hours.

Notice that this schedule requires you to sleep every four hours. So you'd have to get used to sleeping everywhere. And as you can probably imagine, it's pretty hard to schedule your naps around your classes and if you ever need to be up for more than four hours, you are dead.

I ended up modifying the schedule a little because I had five classes in a row. I just slept from 4am - 8am and then took a 30 minute nap around noon and another around 8 pm. It actually worked pretty well. Other people say it took them a couple weeks to transition into it, but I was used to sleep deprivation when I started (as I'm sure all of you are) so I had no problem jumping right into it. Just don't miss a nap, or nap for longer than you're supposed to, and it works.

There has been no research on this. From what I can tell and from what I've read from others' experiences, it's a good idea if sleep deprivation is inevitable (new parents often adopt similar schedules without really thinking about it), but it probably has detrimental effects if you keep it up for a very long time (say, more than six months).

A doctor I respect told me that naps are very good, provided they are short and you take them at the same time every day. He's done this himself for several years, and still keeps it up.

 

[Mayday]

Basically im feeling tired and worn out, I pull it out of my bag, blow some air into it, put it on the desk and rest my head. Within 5 minutes im asleep and i wake up randomly around 30 minutes later.

I'm always afraid that if I do tht, I'll start snoring or something and I'll wake up to the whole library staring at me 🙄

 

[Law2Doc]

Have any of you heard of the "polyphasic sleep cycle"? Instead of taking one long 6-7 hour nap in the night, it comprises sleeping in 'instalments' of 1.5-2 hours each, and studying/doing 'work' in between.

Actually, I'm pretty sure this idea (pioneered by Leonardo DaVinci) has since been discredited.

 

[Carlita088]

actually, I don't nap for long periods of time

what's worse is that I usually DON'T EVEN KNOW when I fall asleep. I think i'm studying and it's like suddenly, I WAKE UP, so that's when i usually realize that I had been sleeping... soo weird.
They usually turn out to be about 20 to 30 minutes, I would say, although I have never purposely monitored them.

When i wake up after, I can try to study and it's the same thing again, I think I'm studying, but suddenly realize that my brain was like, 75% sleeping.

I don't know how to explain it. Maybe I do this this myself, because I will be so insanely tired to the point where I feel like my eyeballs are bigger than they should be, yet I won't go to sleep. Sometimes for no reason. Maybe I'm a bit insomniac so it's starting to mess with my brain or something.

I'm trying to change all that for the new semester.