NASA: How to Nap to Improve Job Performance
NAPS CAN PROVIDE GREAT BENEFITS. A good nap can boost memory, improve brain performance, and reduce stress. While naps can boost performance, what is the best nap length? Writing on strategic naps in operational settings, NASA scientists offer an answer. What do you think is the optimal nap length to improve job performance?
- A. 15 minutes
- B. 26 minutes
- C. 31 minutes
- D. 60 minutes
If you guessed 26 minutes, that’s a bingo! The space agency NASA discovered that pilots who slept in the cockpit for 26 minutes had improvements in alertness of up to 54 percent. Job performance improved by one-third (34 percent) compared to non-napping pilots.
“It took me five minutes of awkward silence to come up with an answer, but upon careful consideration, I told her that my perfect job would entail spending the day in a cushiony room, napping with baby animals. Maybe they had been abandoned by their mothers or left by the side of the road; whatever their situation, it would be my job to keep them company, pet them, and generally give them a warm motherly vibe.
When they wanted to play and roll around on the floor, I would do that with them, and then when they got tired, they could fall asleep in the crook of my arm or snuggled in my…
