The Key to the Best Naps Ever: Napping 101

It's officially Wellness Wednesday, and I'm continuing on with my new series today with my #1 priority for optimal healthSLEEP!

I have a secret to admit.

I used to hate naps. With a passion. While every other kindergartener was happily snoozing away for nap time, I would lay there with my eyes open just wanting to play. Then as I got older, I would always get so disoriented and groggy when I woke up from involuntary naps, so I began to associate that negative feeling with naps.

Fast-forward to when I started my personal training career and was working 6-7 days a week, usually from 5am until 10pm at night. Yikes.

Naps became the ultimate treat, and was basically essential to my survival and sanity. I began to learn how to nap properly like a cat in the cozy sun, so that I woke up feeling refreshed and energized instead of groggy. But I learned the hard way on the right way to nap, through lots of trial and error on my own.

Luckily for you guys, you don't have to do that! Because my friends at Casper somehow are mind-readers and know all my nap secrets. But it's a good thing, because they made this super helpful infographic below for my readers on how to get the best nap possible. 

ADDITIONAL TIP: Also, as a trainer, I always recommend to my clients that even if it's possible to sleep in super long until noon on the weekends, it's actually setting you up for a more disruptive week ahead because your body gets confused since you're sending it mixed signals:
"6am wakeup during the week but 1pm on Saturday? Huh?"
Therefore, I recommend waking up closer to your usual weekday wakeup time, then adding in an afternoon nap. 

Thanks to my friends at Casper for providing Living Minnaly with this awesome infographic!

 

How about you guys? Are you nappers or still hesitant? Try out these tips and let me know how it works!