Why is it when some nap, they awake not refreshed but groggy, lethargic,
heavy feeling, etc. Still others who nap can't sleep at night.
JL Edwards
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
From: Stephen Black <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: TIPS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 1999 3:48 PM
Subject: In defense of napping
> On Fri, 23 Jul 1999, Linda M. Woolf wrote:
> >
> > Napping is not a norm and should be avoided.
>
> Sez who? As a habitual napper, I take exception to this claim.
> Something like the 40% of the world who take siestas would agree (ok,
> I made that figure up, but it must be something like that). There's
> nothing like a nap for kick-starting those sleepy brain cells back
> into productive action.
>
> And I seem to recall (means I'm at home and don't know where the
> information is anyway), that the BRAC (basic rest-activity cycle)
> first identified by the godfather of sleep research, Nathanial
> Kleitman, has two components, a major one at night, and a minor one at
> siesta time. So there seems to be a biological justification for
> napping. Moreover, I believe there's a pile of current research
> demonstrating the effectiveness of napping on performance, so much so
> that it's actually a recommended practice at some companies and even
> for pilots on long flights.
>
> A quick search turned up the following representative of recent
> research on the topic
>
> Sleep Research Online 1(4): 166-178, 1998
> http://www.sro.org/1998/Broughton/166/
>
> SCN Controlled Circadian Arousal and the Afternoon "Nap Zone"
> Roger J. Broughton [ a noted authority on sleep disorders]
>
> Back to Linda...
>
> > For a brief overview, go to
> > http://www.healthanswers.com/adam/top/view.asp?filename=004018.htm&rdir
>
> where it says:
>
> "The sleep cycle includes dreamless periods of light and deep sleep,
> with occasional periods of active dreaming (REM sleep)."
>
> They got that wrong, too.
>
> -Stephen (now wide awake after his afternoon nap)
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
> Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
> Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Lennoxville, QC
> J1M 1Z7
> Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
