Power nap

[6] According to clinical studies among men and women, power nappers of any frequency or duration had a significantly lower mortality ratio due to heart disease than those not napping.

A NASA study led by David F. Dinges, professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, found that naps can improve certain memory functions.

To measure the effectiveness of the naps, tests probing memory, alertness, response time, and other cognitive skills were used.

Reporting in Nature Neuroscience, Sara Mednick, PhD, Stickgold and colleagues also demonstrated that "burnout" irritation, frustration and poorer performance on a mental task can set in as a day of training wears on.

The NIMH team wrote: "The bottom line is: we should stop feeling guilty about taking that 'power nap' at work.

"[12] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied the effects of socioeconomic status on short sleep durations.

In this 2007-2008 CDCP study, 4,850 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) produced self-reported sleep durations.

It was suggested through this study that individuals with minority status and a lower ranking in socioeconomic position are more inclined to have shorter self-reported sleep durations.

[13] Longer and more frequent daytime naps appeared to be associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's dementia in a study that tracked 1401 older people over 14 years.

A nap with caffeine was by far the most effective in reducing driving accidents and subjective sleepiness as it helps the body get rid of the sleep-inducing chemical compound adenosine.

"[23][24][25] One account suggested that it was like a "double shot of energy" from the stimulating boost from caffeine plus better alertness from napping.

The nap rooms may include sleeping pods or cots, white noise machines, and antimicrobial pillows.