Take a Nap! Change Your Life.: The Scientific Plan to Make You Smarter, Healthier, More Productive

Interesting general facts on sleep. Good dive in this erea of interest

The media could not be loaded.  “The ‘big picture’ message is that napping is a necessary and effective tool that can be used by anyone in pursuit of optimum health, happiness and productivity. I want to tell you why that is so, and how to make that knowledge work for you, your family, your company and your community. I want to make you a napper.”~ Sara Mednick, Ph.D. from Take a Nap! Change Your Life.Napping.I’ve fallen in love with it over the last several years and now I have scientific proof on how awesome it is!YES!! :)Seriously.Naps are incredible.And, thanks to Sara Mednick and her colleagues, we now know that naps are not only enjoyable but they’re scientifically proven to boost our performance and increase our overall health and happiness.In her great book, Take a Nap! Change Your Life., Sara provides a super fun, quick-reading exploration on the whys and hows of napping. I loved it and I think you will, too.Let’s have some fun checking out some of my favorite Big Ideas:1. Napping - It’s written in our DNA.2. Fatigue - The quiet little demon.3. Warning: Losing Sleep - Is hazardous to your health.4. 20 Good Reasons to Nap - Let’s count ‘em!5. Napping + Nighttime Sleep - They go together well.So, here’s to living with more health, happiness, meaning and mojo as we get our naps on!More goodness— including PhilosophersNotes on 300+ books in our ​*OPTIMIZE*​ membership program. Find out more at brianjohnson . me.

I appreciate the devoted work of Dr. Mednick on napping and believe it is a very important healthy lifestyle practice. There are some excellent practical tips offered in the book that have great practical application.The writing was a bit of a bother sometimes. Lots of campy comments and superlatives that were easy to skip thru but definitely not necessary. I think the book could have been shorter and more impactful without the case studies, the section on extreme sleeping (pretty irresponsible to even discuss this fringe stuff), and cheerleading sections about how to talk your boss into allowing naps. "Workers of the world, nap!"Memorable points - that timing and duration of your nap affects what type of sleep waves you experience, and hence what kind of benefits you obtain from the nap. Some naps emphasize REM sleep and enhance creativity, while others enhance slow wave deep sleep, clearing the mind and promoting full restoration.Like other books written by medical or health professionals or researchers, getting the message of their life's work across in a simple, inspiring, and practical manner could have been better. I'd pin most of this on the co-writer rather than the doctor really. Being that there are not many books on napping out there to compare to, it still might be worth reading to gather the occasional interesting insight and simply to get motivated.The high point was the promo message on amazon.com, which was incredibly well written: "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..."

The book gives a good overview of how we sleep and the importance of nocturnal sleep and napping. It then goes on to explain how readers can apply those principles in a variety of situations such as being a new parent or a shift worker. There is quite a bit of technical information, but it is explained in an understandable and engaging way.If you buy the Kindle edition, you won't get a map wheel. I wasn't expecting to get an actual wheel, but I was expecting a picture. There is a link to a site, www.takeanap.info. Don't use that one; the site seems to have been abandoned with lots of dead links and extraneous ads. If you go to Dr. Mednick's site, www.saramednick.com, you'll find the wheel without the mess. I have the impression from information on her site that the Kindle edition may be missing other useful illustrations. I love my Kindle, but for this book you're probably better off with print.

This is a concise and fun read about a very interesting and important topic. The reader will learn much about what happens while they are asleep, as well as how to personalize their nap. If that last part sounds strange it won't after reading this delightfully informative book. It's filled with anecdotes and facts about famous nappers, as well as charts and graphs to help illustrate what happens during each sleep cycle. If you are not already educated on the phenomenon of sleep and the myriad benefits of napping, which I don't think many of us are, then this book is well worth your time and money.

Good book that explains important elements of the science behind sleep. Taking a nap of 20 or 30 minutes can make a marked difference, the problem is knowing what type of "nap" (sleep) to take and when. Could have been a bit more detailed on answering that type of question; however, the content is more than adequate.

The book provides an intuitive understanding of napping supported by research. It gives you the specifics for a custom designed nap.

My wife purchased this book and is finding it interesting and logical. The problem is being able to take a nap in today's workplace.

What happened to my previous review? I gave this book a five star rating some eight months ago. I did not use any offensive or derogatory words, yet it got removed. I had become a certified buyer before having written a review of this book. In fact, I bought two books of this title, and gave one to a medical practitioner to advise his patients.The book is well written by an expert, and informative. It confirms what I discovered for myself, and tells me much more.It also confirms what some other cultures have been practising for centuries (e.g. siesta)The industrial revolution took it away from us, and the technological revolution hasn't given it back. "Captains of industry" want us to continue slaving without energy-renewing breaks, which is why there is still a taboo about taking energy naps. Napping is considered an old-folks pastime, partly because capitalism exploits youth for lower wages, thereby contributing to ageism.There wouldn't be many references (referred to by another reviewer) because the author is one of a few experts in the field. She does mention having consulted other experts, such as those in neurology, etc.If/when the concept and practice gets accepted in society, no doubt other authors will use her as a reference. I came across the title of this book while reading “The Practice of Practice” by an expert musician describing various methods of improving one’s music practising skills, including rest periods (which in turn includes napping) – so there’s already someone giving her credentials by referring to her text!The author explains the concept and practice very well, showing which times of the day it is best to practise it, and for how long for specific benefits (between twenty to fifty minutes for various energy state benefits)Read the book and see for yourself. And don’t feel guilty about taking naps between intensive, long working periods. Any criticisms levied at you for doing it will come from the uninitiated, prejudiced, and ignorant, who have no interest in finding out about themselves.

I learnt a lot from this book about sleep patterns and their impact on health performance and psychological wellbeing. Sara however also presents latest scientific and medical research on the benefits of taking regular naps throughout the day. The best time to take your nap and the optimum length of time you take for your nap depends on your personal sleep pattern profile and on the benefits you want to achieve. You can nap for creativity, or to energise yourself, or just to increase alertness, and/or physical or mental performance. This book doesn't just give you information on napping. It also gives you the practical tools you need to use napping to help change your life.

Very informative, zero references, would have been 4 otherwise

O livro é fantástico. Muito impressionante como as pessoas ( inclusive eu antes de ler) conhecem tão pobremente os efeitos do sono. Por que dormimos? O que são os sonhos? Como otimizar o sono? Os seus efeitos sobre o corpo e cérebro. A diferença entre a soneca e o sono noturno são essas as questões nele abordadas. Fiquei muito contente com essa aquisição. Recomendo a todos.

It is one of the most boring & stupid books I have ever read. I am one of those people, who never leaves a book until reading from cover to cover. Yet, I struggled to read it. Regret buying it.