At what point in the course of history did naps receive such a terrible rap? Seriously, daytime snoozing habits exist across the world yet American culture has vilified dozing off while the sun is still out. In Spain, people head home for an afternoon "siesta" as life practically comes to a grinding halt; a "riposo" as it's known in Italy. However, can one imagine a world where heading home in the middle of work for twenty minutes in bed was considered the standard? It's beyond belief this side of the Atlantic. In the USA, napping is not a cultural tradition, at least not yet, but here's hoping we can gradually move toward a society that doesn't frown upon the daytime snooze.

We all know the power of the nap to increase one's productivity, and let's be honest, 99.9% of the world could use additional boosts to their capabilities for getting things done. I know I for one am in that majority where 24 hours are not enough to take on everything life may throw my way. Humans are a part of the minority species of mono phasic sleepers which means our days are distinctly divided into two separate periods: day and night. One for being awake and one for sleep. It's much healthier to follow the lead of countries like the aforementioned Spain and Italy and follow a polyphasic pattern where people sleep for short periods of time several times throughout the day, all in an effort to be more alert and productive. There's nothing better than throwing on some comforting tunes for half an hour and just drifting off into the mental abyss, obligations and duties be damned.

Now, in order to be a talented power napper, one must be in touch with the different kinds of naps. This is not a game folks. This is a real science studied by brilliant humans obsessed with maximizing human potential. We all know about the traditional power nap that lasts around 20 minutes, but how many of us are aware of the micro nap that lasts around 5 minutes and can be just as effective if executed properly. We also have the nano nap which lasts around 20 SECONDS and the lazy man's nap that lasts around 90 minutes. The most interesting one, in my humble opinion, is the 5 minute micro nap, because these unintended episodes of loss of attention accompanied with a peaceful mind can make any man or woman feel like a new person and all that takes is some prolonged eye closure.

I used to have a negative perception of naps because I was always told not to be lazy and unproductive, but any human with a semblance of a life and responsibilities knows how imperative temporary breaks are in the grand scheme of things. If Einstein and JFK believed in a little daytime snoozing to break away from the monotony of an ordinary day, then who are we to question our predecessors? All in all, take your naps seriously. You snooze, you will not lose!