Monday, March 5, 2012

All The Smart People Are Doing It

You are not going to believe what I found today.

I discovered a book.  But not just any book.  No sir.  A book that just might change my life from this day forward.  Or at least make me feel better about myself and what I've always thought of as a lazy habit.

Check. This. Out.


Y'all.  I am not even kidding - this is an actual book!

Here's the description from Amazon:

Imagine a product that increases alertness, boosts creativity, reduces stress, improves perception, stamina, motor skills, and accuracy, enhances your sex life, helps you make better decisions, keeps you looking younger, aids in weight loss, reduces the risk of heart attack, elevates your mood, and strengthens memory. Now imagine that this product is nontoxic, has no dangerous side effects, and, best of all, is absolutely free.

This miracle drug is, in fact, nothing more than the nap: the right nap at the right time. The work of Sara C. Mednick, Ph.D., a researcher at the Salk Institute and the leading authority on the study of the nap, Take a Nap! Change Your Life. is the scientifically-based breakthrough program that shows how we can fight the fatigue epidemic—which afflicts an estimated 50 million Americans—through a custom-designed nap. 

A custom-designed nap?  Seriously??  Sign me up!  For the sake of science, of course....

I can't tell you how happy I am to have found this information!  Because my family is continually sending me little Pinterest pins like these:

NAP


All I have to say about that?  

Haters gonna hate.  (My teenagers are rolling their eyes right now...)

Here's an excerpt from the book on the most common reasons people don't take naps, besides pesky children who won't leave you alone:
"If I nap I'm being lazy."
Some of the most hardworking figures in history--national leaders, scientists, CEOs, movie stars--have used napping as a tool to get more out of each day. As demonstrated by the latest brain imaging technology, your mind is still at work even if your body is at rest.
Replace with: "Napping makes me more productive."
"I'm too busy to nap."
Just look around your office at 3 p.m. More than likely, instead of a hive of industrious activity, you'll see a bunch of bleary-eyed workers checking and rechecking their e-mail. As the great napper Winston Churchill said, "Don't think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one… well, at least one and half." The latest scientific research has proven him correct.
Replace with: "I'm so busy, I need to nap."
"I haven't done enough to deserve a nap."
Do you deserve to eat? To breathe? No natural function--including napping!--should be regarded as a privilege. Stop cheating yourself.
Replace with: "I'm exercising my inalienable right to nap."
"I can't get anything out of a 20-minute nap, so why bother?"
You can reap benefits in as little as five minutes. Naps under 20 minutes can increase alertness, improve physical dexterity, boost stamina and lower stress. Post-lunch naps of 15 minutes have been shown in university studies to increase alertness and performance.
Replace with: "In less than 20 minutes, I will restore my alertness for the rest of the day."


So from now on, if I'm drooling in my pillow at 2 PM, I'm not being lazy.

This mama's workin' - and getting skinny, and reducing my stress, and boosting my creativity, and looking younger, and on and on it goes.

And to think, I've never liked science that much.  How wrong I've been...




9 comments:

  1. You are too much!

    After you've rested up and finished your plot for world domination, let me know. I'll still be sitting here bleary-eyed, blinking at my coffee in confusion ;-)

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  2. We have an opening at my law firm for a persuasive advocate such as yourself. However, at 2-3 pm, we require a brisk walk followed by repeated email checking... ;)

    Whenever I take a nap ( which is rare- I am half Asian) I wake up confused as to whether it is day or night. I don't think this makes me more productive... Just sayin.

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  3. I LOVE IT! LOL! I didn't used to "nap", however, I find time to relax in my recliner and shut my eyes for at least 5-10 minutes and if I really doze off it is not for more than 30. I do feel better and it does refresh the old body...so Lana...NAP AWAY!

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  4. P.S. Another book you might really enjoy: A Place of Quiet Rest, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is a book I have just started and it is really good!

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  5. I must get involved in this kind of afternoon activity. Sure beats my binge eating to stay awake. And now I'm being encouraged to lay down? I'm all over that!!!

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  6. I'm thinking we could do everyone a favor and try it out for ourselves just to make sure it works. Right?

    Now, someone tell Sarah Hazel that she needs a nap too!

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  7. Just took a lovely nap today - I agree 100% that it makes me more productive and I seriously wish everyone would do it. The world would be a kinder, gentler place for sure :)

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  8. Maybe this would be the cure to my Red Bull habit!!!!

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  9. I wonder if I could convince my husband that me taking a nap during the day isn't lazy...haha.

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