NASA Naps
NASA says that longer naps are better than shorter ones -- and "that some cognitive functions benefited more from napping than others." This of course doesn't mean that one should necessarily take really long naps -- if you do, you run the risk of running into deep sleep, and waking up from that is no picnic. Waking up from deep sleep usually results in sleep inertia. Another way of saying being groggy with a penchant of being in a pissed-off mood.
NASA is studying sleep because astronauts in general lose upwards of 2.5 hours of sleep when in space. Space travel will do that to you. They have the hopes of figuring out naps and how to employ them to mitigate risks of having a non-functioning astronaut behind the controls of a space shuttle. What they've found so far is that napping does help. Naps have a positive impact on tasks that require "working memory" -- memory which affords a person the ability to juggle a bunch of tasks at the same time without forgetting an important one. Naps have no impact on a person's overall alertness and ability to notice details. What matters there is the amount of sleep a person gets in a 24 hour period.
NASA is studying sleep because astronauts in general lose upwards of 2.5 hours of sleep when in space. Space travel will do that to you. They have the hopes of figuring out naps and how to employ them to mitigate risks of having a non-functioning astronaut behind the controls of a space shuttle. What they've found so far is that napping does help. Naps have a positive impact on tasks that require "working memory" -- memory which affords a person the ability to juggle a bunch of tasks at the same time without forgetting an important one. Naps have no impact on a person's overall alertness and ability to notice details. What matters there is the amount of sleep a person gets in a 24 hour period.
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