Take a Nap! Change Your Life.

Contents


Introduction: The Couch at Harvard xi

Part One: The Basics
Chapter 1. The new nap: not your grandfather’s siesta 3
It is written . . . in our DNA 4
The siesta is dead. Long live the nap! 7

Chapter 2. Fatigue: a hidden epidemic 10
The walking tired 11
Asleep on the job: a threat to safety 12
Warning: Losing sleep is hazardous to your health 16

Chapter 3. The nap manifesto: what napping can do for you 23

Part Two: The Principles
Chapter 4. The stages of sleep: building blocks of the nap 31
Waves and scans: the sleeping brain revealed 32
The sleep cycle 33
To be continued . . . 44

Chapter 5. Dissecting sleep: making a nap work for you 45
The shadow cycles 46
Stage 2: the constant companion 50
Napping vs. nighttime sleep 51

Chapter 6. Optimized Napping: the secret formula 55
The lark and the owl 56
A nap to call your own 59
How to use the Nap Wheel 61

Part Three: The Program
Chapter 7. Your sleep profile: getting to know yourself 65
How tired are you? 66
Checking your calendar 67
Different naps for different folks 75

Chapter 8. Nap time: it’s easier than you think 85
It’s about time 86
Clearing the way 86
Free your mind and your nap will follow 95
Okay, you’re cleared to nap! 97
Stay motivated! 102

Chapter 9. Extreme napping: exploring the outer limits 103
Ü berman to the rescue? 104
Napping for “normal” emergencies 109
Napping across time zones 113

Chapter 10. A nap-positive society 117
Workers of the world, nap! 119
Power points of workplace napping 122

Appendix
Glossary 127
The scientific formula for creating the precise nap to suit your needs 139