Naps: Why the Smartest People Take Them (and Why You Should Too)

Most people think naps are for toddlers or lazy afternoons.

But the truth is, a short nap could be the simplest way to reset your energy, sharpen your focus, and show up better for the rest of the day.

In this Sunday Session, I’m sharing why the smartest people in the world take naps — and why they might be just as useful for you.

So switch off for a few minutes, tune in, and give yourself permission to rest.

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Transcript

0:00 Hello there and welcome back to another episode of Sunday Sessions with me, Nick Poninski. Today I want to build on last week's episode which was all about the power of sleep and we are going to talk today about naps.
0:13 Now, it is something that sounds almost too simple, but it could make a huge difference to how you show up during the day, during the week, for yourself, for your clients, for your family.
0:27 And yes, I am talking about naps. Granny naps and naps that toddlers have. And yes, I have them. I have one today.
0:37 Because here's the thing. We live in a culture that glorifies pushing for tiredness, grabbing another coffee, staying up late, getting up early.
0:46 They're running on fumes. And yet the truth is, as we talked about last week, your brain and your body don't perform at the best when you're exhausted.
0:55 So today, I want to reframe naps. They're not laziness. They're not slacking off. They are leverage. And now we've all been there.
1:03 I was there today. It's two o'clock in the afternoon. You've had a busy morning of client calls or, um, delivering client work, doing the school run, whatever it is.
1:15 Suddenly, you hit that wall. Your focus drifts. You start procrastinating. You start rereading the same sentence three times. You start avoiding doing things that ordinarily you wouldn't mind doing.
1:30 You'd enjoy doing. And what do most of us do? We try and power through, or we reach for caffeine, or we kind of just procrastinate, you know, and click through all the, all the different pages on the internet, or I'll just see what Facebook's doing, or ooh, I'll just see what's happening on LinkedIn,
1:48 or Instagram, or whatever. But what if instead of fighting that feeling inside ourselves, what about, uh, you know, instead of fighting that, that biology?
1:59 What about if we worked with it instead? Now, what I'm talking about there is napping. When you realise that your focus is drifting, that you're procrastinating, when you wouldn't ordinarily, when you are avoiding things, that's when a nap, a short nap, that could be the big difference.
2:21 That could be the game. Because a short nap can be a complete reset. So if it's just 10, 20 minutes, whatever it is, it can recharge you way better than another coffee, right?
2:34 Naps, there's also loads of benefits to it. Naps, improved memory. They improve learning. Your brain literally files away information while you rest.
2:44 That's one of the most important things about sleep. So, when you are having a nap, you are giving your brain a chance to, process all the information from the morning, or from the afternoon, or whatever it is.
2:59 Naps also help you reduce stress and reset your mood. So it lowers cortisol, right? And that helps you feel calmer.
3:07 That helps you feel more in control. That means when, when you go into a sales call, or you're delivering some sort of claim work, you're not feeling impatient, right?
3:18 You're feeling more in control. And naps also help to spark creativity. Because when the brain rests, it may, It's new connections, it's whatever you've been thinking about, whatever problem you've had, your brain works on it in the background, and then you get that moment of inspiration.
3:37 And I just want to assure you, it's not just grannies and toddlers and me who ha- have naps, right? Churchill napped daily during the war.
3:47 NASA has studied naps for astronauts, elite athletes use naps as part of recovery. Google famously have the little nap pods.
3:57 So, if the best in- the world can rest and have naps, why can't you? Right? So, here's the thing, if you are open to the idea of having a nap, here's how to do a nap correctly.
4:11 I'll keep it short, 10 to 20 minutes for a quick boost. If you want something deeper, go for that full 60 to 90 minutes to complete a sleep cycle, but anything in between can leave you groggy.
4:23 So, that's your sweet spot. 20 minutes or the full hour. And timing matters. So, the sweet spot. Is early afternoon, usually between 1 and 3pm.
4:34 Too late, and it might mess with your night's sleep, right? And we do not want to do that. So, um, you know, after lunch, perfect time to do it.
4:44 You know, when your body is digesting food. That is actually one of the most tiring things that your body can actually do.
4:52 So, while your body is focusing on processing the food, digesting the food, you can just close your eyes. And that way, you are not putting too much of a strain on the- your body on the brain.
5:04 Your brain is able to then focus. Your body is able to focus on processing the food, rather than doing other things.
5:12 And you might want to think about trying to find a quiet corner. Maybe even wearing an eye mask. Maybe you want to- go out to your car.
5:20 You definitely want to put your phone on silent and try and find somewhere quiet. You know, today, when I was napping, it was in the co-works base.
5:28 It was in the- it was on the- the- the side of this busy corridor. Well, I say busy corridor. I wouldn't say the word busy, but it was in a pathway.
5:38 And every so often, someone had walked past and it would distract me a little bit. Eventually, I nodded off and whenever someone was walking past it, it didn't really matter to me.
5:48 But, you know, even if you don't want to have a full nap. Even just closing your eyes and switching off for a while can work.
5:54 So, as I say, if that means that you go to your car, or even the bathroom, doesn't matter. You just need to find that quiet space for yourself to take 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes for yourself to- give yourself that quick boost so that you can attack the afternoon and achieve everything that you want to achieve
6:14 , rather than procrastinating. You will be productive. So hopefully that has been helpful for you. Here's the important part that I want you to take away with you.
6:25 Naps aren't laziness. They are an investment in showing up sharper, calmer, and more creative. And as a self-employed H.I. consultant, you've got a freedom that most people don't, right?
6:37 You, you are not in the office, monitor- Friday 9 to 5, you are self-employed, you call the shots, so you have the freedom to nap when and if you need it.
6:47 And that's not something to feel guilty about, it's something to embrace. So this week, instead of trying to push through that afternoon slump, tryin' even, just try it once, and notice how much better you feel afterwards, I swear by All in all, sometimes slowing down is the fastest way forward, so that's
7:07 my thought for you this Sunday on the t- day's Sunday session. Naps on a waste of time. They are a reset button.
7:15 So hopefully that's interesting for you. Thank you for taking the time to listen along. And as ever, embrace the change, because how we change is how we grow.